News Release

April 29, 2009

Contact: Douglas Robinson, 202-220-2360, drobinson@nw.org
Erin Angell Collins, 202-220-6317, ecollins@nw.org

NeighborWorks America Salutes 2009 Resident Leader Volunteers
NeighborWorks Week National Community and Volunteer Events Set for June 6-13

Washington D.C.—Today NeighborWorks® America announced the recipients of the 2009 Dorothy Richardson Resident Leadership Award, an honor that each year recognizes eight community leaders from around the country for their outstanding contributions to their communities. Through years of community building, activism and service to their neighbors, these individuals have made a difference in the lives of many.

“This year’s honorees have demonstrated a steadfast commitment to improving the communities in which they live,” said Ken Wade, CEO of NeighborWorks America.  “The important contributions of these volunteers have helped to transform and enrich their neighborhoods and towns, creating lasting benefits for countless residents. We are proud to honor them for their generous service to others.”  

The 2009 Dorothy Richardson Resident Leadership Award recipients are:

• Angie Vorher, NeighborWorks Salt Lake, Salt Lake City:  Diminutive in stature but great in spirit, Vorher is a quiet, unassuming leader in her community who tirelessly and enthusiastically works to ensure her fellow residents have a voice in decisions that affect their community.
• Audrey Browder, Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans, New Orleans: Browder is a natural born leader and former teacher who considers her neighborhood – the Central City/Holy Ghost community – her classroom at large.  Browder has led New Orleans civic and religious organizations for more than 20 years and has been actively involved in bringing back New Orleans following the 2005 hurricanes.
• Delores Lintel, NeighborWorks Lincoln, Lincoln, Neb.:  For more than 40 years Lintel has committed herself to preserving the integrity of her Clinton neighborhood and the historic integrity of surrounding Lincoln communities.  In the mid-1970s Lintel and her coalition of resident leaders led the charge to defeat a planned highway that was forty years in the making, which would have cut through five Lincoln neighborhoods and had a devastating impact on the community and its residents. 
• Janice Curry, NeighborWorks New Horizons, New Haven, Conn.:  A resident since 2002, Curry helped launch NeighborWorks’ New Horizons homeownership program in 2003, increased the number of residents on the Resident Leader Council, and organizes the organization’s NeighborWorks Week activity, which gives volunteers the opportunity to beautify the town’s senior housing complex.
• Janice McKenna, Home HeadQuarters, Inc., Syracuse, N.Y.:  President of her community’s neighborhood association in Tipperary Hill, McKenna is at the forefront of neighborhood planning and revitalization efforts and has helped to drive millions of dollars into her community, and motivated fellow residents to get involved in their community as well. 
• Jeffrey Gibney, South Bend Heritage Foundation, South Bend, Ind.: A former executive director of South Bend Heritage Foundation, Gibney is now South Bend’s Executive Director of Community and Economic Development.  For more than 30 years Gibney has worked tirelessly to bring his fellow residents together to transform South Bend neighborhoods into places where people can live, work, and thrive. 
• Paul Gillick, Neighborhood Housing Services of Lackawanna County, Scranton, Penn.: For nearly 30 years Gillick has been “at the table” in his community, volunteering his talent and time to work with his fellow community members to strengthen Scranton neighborhoods.  Gillick is a man with a true commitment to community, personal character, and excellence in all he does.
• Willie Robinson, Neighborhood Housing Services Richmond, Richmond, Calif.: Since 2001 Robinson has served as the ambassador of NHS of Richmond.  Robinson’s leadership and deep-seeded commitment to his community and NHS has enabled him to secure key partnerships with the financial sector and local government, which have helped the NHS continue to successfully serve Richmond residents.

This year’s honorees exemplify the commitment to community service and to helping others that is championed by NeighborWorks America and its national network. In addition to engaging resident volunteers throughout the year, NeighborWorks annually hosts a week-long community service effort, titled NeighborWorks Week. NeighborWorks Week is now in its twenty-sixth year and NeighborWorks organizations around the country mobilize tens of thousands of volunteers during the week to improve their neighborhoods through a variety of hands-on repair, rehabilitation, beautification and educational activities.

While each member of the NeighborWorks network has planned activities tailor-made for their communities, this year more than 60 NeighborWorks organizations are participating in a special event called NeighborWorks Plants! NeighborWorks Plants activities include the creation of urban community gardens, landscape projects of homes and apartment complexes in the community.

NeighborWorks America and local NeighborWorks organizations continue to seek sponsors and support for the NeighborWorks Plants! projects set for NeighborWorks Week 2009.

Find out more about the Dorothy Richardson Award and the 2009 honorees.

About NeighborWorks America
NeighborWorks America creates opportunities for people to improve their lives and strengthen their communities by providing access to homeownership and to safe and affordable rental housing. In the last five years, NeighborWorks organizations have generated more than $19.5 billion in reinvestment in these communities. NeighborWorks America is the nation’s leading trainer of community development and affordable housing professionals.