Thank You for Nominating Me for a CORO MLK Leadership Award

A Facebook friend shared an urgent request to find a winter coat for a young gay-identified female student in the Pittsburgh Public School system. Apparently, the school does not have an excess of coats right now. So I spent a few hours putting out the word and, eventually, a Northside neighbor (and new Facebook friend) named Michelle drove a brand new coat to my house around 9 PM. I took it to the high school Friday AM and handed it off to the teacher.

That’s the person I aspire to be – the person who people ask to help find a coat or addresses some other fundamental need. I really don’t want to be the fundraiser, public face or administrator. I never aspired to be an Executive Director (never, not ever, never never.) I just want to be a social worker/community organizer. It fits.

The Award I Did Not Receive

Nomination

I notice when people start their biographies with references to awards they’ve received. While self-promotion is not a sin, it takes a lot panache to pull it off without stumbling over the words like an overeager lad boasting about schoolyard accomplishments.  Still, that’s more endearing than someone who acts nonchalant and unaffected by such pedestrian […]