| Unsung Hero Awards
Unsung Hero Awards
Brookline is fortunate to have many actively engaged citizens, young and old, quietly and persistently working to better our community. Each year, the BCF awards Brookline Unsung Hero Awards to one adult and one young person who have had a positive impact on Brookline and who have not been recognized for their work.
Unsung Heroes are nominated by anonymous “spotters”, chosen for theirdeep involvement in the Town and their discrete nature. Spotters quietly and anonymously identify adults and young people whose leadership and service have had a beneficial impact on town life. Spotters are asked to look for people who think outside the box in their approach to solving social problems, work hard to make a difference, inspire others and do not call attention to themselves except as a way to garner attention for their causes. Spotters submit as many nominations as they wish, and a committee of BCF Trustees selects the Unsung Heroes from the nominees.
2008 Unsung Hero Awards The recipient of the adult award for 2008 is Joan Sokoloff. Joan has
worked with high-risk teens in Brookline for 40 years - creating
comprehensive outreach programs for teens in the community who are in
the court system, are abused, and or neglected. She has also worked
with many adults experiencing serious trauma, including having
volunteered her services to counsel families who had lost loved-ones on
the Boston-LA flight on 9/11. She has devoted herself to helping our
community by working with numerous organizations in Brookline, and will
retire from the Brookline Community Mental Health Center in October
2008.
The recipients of the 2008 youth awards are: Inda
Omerefendic, Katie Ullman and Cecilia Brown. They led (and continue to
lead) the SAJE (Student Action for Justice and Education) Environmental
Committee. They planned a major event--a Carbon Cafe--at the Devotion
School in the spring that attracted over 100 community members. The
event included entertainment, food and drink (donated) and a tremendous
amount of research went into preparing materials for 8 information
stations (transportation, heat use, food, etc)--how much carbon daily
activities consume, and ways to reduce. Participants were given a
pledge sheet that corresponded to the info materials and selected items
for reducing and how much carbon they would save. There were also
informational slides and an NSTAR booth. It was a fabulous event. They
also led younger students who learned how to be focused and disciplined
activists who gained a huge amount of confidence and excitement to
expand their work this year. The awards celebration took
place at the Coolidge Corner Courtyard Marriott, with music provided
by Brookline High School acapella groups Perfect Pitch and the
Testostatones. Free and open the the public the celebration drew a
large crowd of all ages, who came together to share the achievements of
these wonderful community members.
2007 Unsung Hero Awards
The awards were given to Jim Margolies from the Brookline Emergency Food Pantry and Eva O’Brien, a Brookline High Student who is working on raising awareness of the AIDS/HIV crisis in South Africa.
James (Jim) Margolis runs the Brookline Emergency Food Pantry as a volunteer. As a congregant of St. Paul’s and a volunteer at the food pantry, Jim found that the pantry was occasionally not stocked or open during advertised hours, so he took on the reorganization and systemization of the pantry. Jim says his work was spurred by a self-proclaimed “love of groceries”.
In many ways Jim Margolis stocks the shelves and schedules volunteers, negotiates with the Postal Workers and others who wish to conduct food drives. He created the annual appeal with a challenge grant from BCF and continues to raise $30,000. Jim has written grant proposals, gotten publicity in the TAB and worked with the Boston Food Bank and other hunger groups to bring resources and publicity to Brookline food pantry. Jim Margolis’ dedication to this valuable community service is exemplary.
Eva O’Brien is a student organizer with a global perspective, who cares deeply about public health issues. She is “fluent in the language of global public health and serious about making a difference. Her spirit is infectious,” wrote her “spotter.”
As a member of the Brookline High School Student Action for Justice and Education, Eva has encouraged and led the group to become involved in advocacy and action around public health issues. AIDS/HIV is a particular concern of Eva’s, and last year she organized a concert at Brookline High School, featuring a South African HIV+ choir. “The auditorium was filled...the audience so transfixed and moved,” said one High School teacher.
2006 Unsung Hero Awards
The 2006 Adult Unsung Hero Award went to Jeff Polack, who received this award posthumously. Jeff was a tradesman with the Brookline Building Department. “He helped start the BHS cycling team...sought out local sponsors and ordered uniforms and led the team to take part in races and fundraising rides for charity... Jeff single-handedly turned an underused balcony space above the gym into a first-rate boxing gym. But his tour de force was his rock wall... Now hundreds of adults and youth enjoy the recreational benefits of climbing on his wall.”
The 2006 Youth Unsung Hero Award went to Nika Gorini. Nika was a senior at Brookline High School (BHS), who for the past two years worked hard to bring greater awareness of fair trade goods to the BHS and the Brookline community at large. Nika took on a highly complex issue, and exhibited courage, tenacity and imagination in educating her peers and community and affecting change. | 
