2009 Bridge Builders Award
We are honored to recognize Lydia Assefa-Dawson, graduate of Sterling
College and Seattle Pacific University with the 2009 Bridge Builders Award.
Lydia is the Housing Program Director at MultiFaith Works, a nonprofit
in the Seattle area. Like the Center for Spirituality at Work, MultiFaith
Works is committed to uniting communities for a common purpose and to an
inclusive spirituality that works for the common good and serves those
most in need.
Lydia is responsible for the management of a housing program for low-income people living with AIDS and MS. Lydia’s story as a child in Ethiopia and a professional woman in the Seattle area was featured on 20/20 back in 2001.
2009 Working Spirit Award
This award is given annually by the Center for Spirituality at Work to
the individual or business that exemplifies the following:
- Respect for the dignity of all persons
- Appreciation for the values of relationships in effecting change
- Attitude of service to those who are helpless/powerless
- Engagement with innovative approaches that make the world a better place
- Commitment to the value of partnerships in fostering social transformation.
The above attitudes reflect the core values of the Center for Spirituality
at Work. We encourage the expression of these values for a safer and healthier
community life.
This year’s recipient is Captain Kathleen Arnold, Programs Supervisor at Denver Women’s Correctional Facility. We have had the privilege of working with and learning from Captain Arnold for the past three and a half years. We recognize her for her commitment to professionalism, her tireless service to ensure program effectiveness and her respect for volunteers. She displays a special sensitivity to volunteers, their issues, their training and their supervision needs, We particularly value her relational style of communication and oversight and her skill in balancing volunteer needs with procedural demands in a highly secure setting. The leadership that she provides is also evident in the service provided by the recreational officers and their openness to volunteer presence. We applaud her “Working Spirit.”
2009 Valdez Award
LYNN SAUVE is the recipient of the Valdez Award given in the spring
of each year for outstanding service. Lynn has lived a life of service
and brings energy and enthusiasm to the Making Choices program. She
is a graduate of Borgess School of Nursing and Metro State College
where she received her degrees in nursing. Her MBA is from the University
of Phoenix. After working in critical care nursing, Lynn became the
branch manager for a home health agency and later worked for Kaiser
Permanente for 13 years as a senior level director in clinical operations.
She presently expresses her many talents as a career coach.
Lynn is recognized for her outstanding service as a Making Choices teacher and mentor. She brings a deep level of commitment to her responsibilities and a great deal of life wisdom to the challenges confronting the women she serves. Lynn is a leader in the program. She regularly attends continuing education opportunities regarding the needs of women offenders and often becomes the facilitator of volunteer energies. She is presently the volunteer coordinator of the teaching team ensuring the continued professionalism of the program, providing support for the teachers, effective communication with the office and facilitation of ongoing program evaluation. We are grateful for the breath of life she infuses in Making Choices and in the community.
2008 Vincent de Paul Award
Rich Swan, married and the father of two grown children, is a graduate of Regis University. His present career in sales helps him connect his appreciation for Colorado’s beauty with his love for people. Rich honors clients and friends alike with his enthusiasm for people and the depth of his care-filled listening.
His commitment to those who are poor has given birth to a partnership between Church of the Risen Christ (Denver), the Mission of New Ulm Minnesota diocese in Guatemala (San Lucas) and the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA). Ten years ago, Rich and his wife chose to sponsor a Guatemalan child through CFCA. In 2003, they traveled there to meet the child they were sponsoring. Over the next few years they returned again and again with their children and friends. Prompted by an invitation from his pastor, Rich developed a program for the youth in his parish, encouraging them to individually sponsor children through CFCA. This summer will be the third youth work trip to Guatemala enabling the young people to be of service and to meet personally the children they are sponsoring. Rich has discovered deep joy in being a bridge to connect youth and adults from Denver with families in Guatemala living in poverty. His enthusiasm overflows into all aspects of his life. Rich reports that it has “opened his eyes to be more compassionate with everyone.” He reflects now on the great “opportunity to reach out and listen to people that is present in every moment of every day.”
We recognize Rich today with the Vincent de Paul award. We thank him for the way he honors the dignity of others, for his commitment to relationship, for his work in developing partnerships and for his capacity to live out the abundance that results when people share their resources. We also thank him for reminding all of us of the best in ourselves---that as ordinary people we can and do make a difference!
