Suburbanites honored at philanthropy awards
About 250 people attended a luncheon Wednesday to congratulate community members honored through the West suburban Philanthropic Network.
The network provides guidance, networking opportunities and education to those who serve not-for-profit organizations in the Western suburbs. The honors event was held at the Abbington in Glen Ellyn, with Ken Bartels serving as master of ceremonies.
Those honored included:
Ÿ Brad Warren received the WSPN Distinguised Service Award. He has served on the WSPN board for six years and is now vice president. Warren, who has been a nonprofit development professional for more than 15 years, said “it’s a great honor to be recognized by my peers.”
Ÿ Mary Jo Sheehy received the Nonprofit Volunteer of the Year Award for her work with Fox Valley Volunteer Hospice. The organization based in Elgin is the largest volunteer hospice in the nation with more than 420 active volunteers. In accepting the award, Sheehy said that her mother taught her to share the gifts she had been given. Sheehy has been with the organization for 15 years.
Ÿ Meredith Dykstra Hilt of the Tellabs Foundation in Naperville was honored with the Professional Grant Maker of the Year. Dykstra Hilt, executive director of the Tellabs Foundation and senior manager of corporate social responsibility for the company, joined the company in 2001. She joked while receiving the award that after working at other not-for-profit organizations in the past, she said she was surprised to see that companies have matching furniture when she joined Tellabs.
Ÿ Jane Hodgkinson, executive director with the Western DuPage Special Recreation Association in Carol Stream, received the Nonprofit Executive of the Year award. She said she became interested in helping children with special needs while she was in college in the 1960s and saw how cruel people with disabilities were sometimes treated.
Ÿ West suburban Whole Foods, covering Hinsdale, Naperville, Wheaton and Willowbrook, earned the Corporate Philanthropic Award. The stores in this region each hold four 5-percent days per year where they donated about $60,000 last year to area school districts and nonprofit organizations.
Ÿ Bernard J. Kleina, who has been called “the most disliked man in DuPage County” for his work with the Fair Housing Center where he is executive director, was named Humanitarian of the Year. Exercising his vibrant sense of humor, Kleina said that in writing his acceptance speech on Saturday, he wondered if the world would end before he was able to accept his award.
Ÿ Denise Izatt of Elmhurst was honored with the Philanthropic Leadership Award for a variety of work including chairing Holiday Meals on Wheels and serving on the Celebrity Chefs Brunch committee.
Ÿ The Donald P. and Byrd M. Kelly Foundation was honored with the Foundation Philanthropic Award for supporting the interests of agencies and educational institutions for more than 26 years.
About 20 volunteers were also honored for their outstanding volunteer work for an array of organizations.