Tune into the Hank Stolz Show at 3PM today on WCRN 830 AM and listen to the “ACTION”
WORCESTER _ Today at 3 p.m., Worcester Community Action Council (WCAC) Executive Director Jill Dagilis and Deborah Penta, Vice Chair of the WCAC Board of Directors and CEO of PENTA Communications, Inc. will appear live on the WCRN Hank Stolz Show (830 AM) to talk about the Agency, National Community Action Month and the second Annual WCAC Action Heroes event scheduled for next Wednesday evening, May 21, 2008 at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, located on Foster Street in Worcester. This event celebrates community leaders and individuals who have helped the Agency accomplish its mission in the past year.
The WCAC began in 1965 as a locally designated community action agency and today serves as an umbrella agency for 25 educational and social service programs. Over 70,000 people are serviced by the WCAC annually in locations that range from downtown Worcester, Webster and Southbridge to Spencer and Oxford.
The Action Heroes event will honor eight individuals and organizations whose exemplary philanthropic endeavors have made a difference to WCAC and the community it serves.
Honorees for the 2008 Action Heroes Awards are:
UMass Memorial Health Care (UMMHC) of Worcester and CEO John G. O’Brien donated an incredible amount of time and funding to the citywide Summer Jobs for Youth Initiative for the past three years. In addition, UMMHC has donated financial support to WCAC’s Youth Job Developer to maintain the position year-round. UMMHC has offered internships and employment at the hospital to students who are interested in healthcare.
Deborah Penta, WCAC Board vice chair and CEO of PENTA Communications, Inc. of Westborough. She has donated significant time, funds and resources to WCAC. Her company provided the design work for the first Action Hero Award invitations and programs, along with WCAC’s 2007 Annual Report and the revamping of its website. Penta and her family also donated over 20 coats to the WCAC’s Head Start and Early Head Start children in South County.
National Grid of Waltham and Vice President of Property Services Anthony Pini, along with Senior Vice President and WCAC Board member Barbara Hassan. National Grid recently donated a set of office systems furniture to the WCAC for its facility on 484 Main Street in Worcester.
Ken Redding, president and CEO of Unibank of Whitinsville. Since November 2000, Unibank has donated over $75,000 to help provide fuel assistance to 380 income-limited elderly and families with small children in the Blackstone Valley communities.
Granite Press, Inc. of Westborough and William Donahue, vice president and general manager. The company donated its printing services for the 2007 WCAC’s Annual Reports and also committed to printing the upcoming 2008 Annual Report.
Shelley Feinstein is being given this award posthumously. She came to the WCAC in the early 1990s as a trained mediator. She worked in the WCAC Community Mediation Center and was often called upon to mediate the most difficult of cases. Sadly, Shelly Feinstein passed away last year; however her invaluable contribution to the WCAC lives on.
Reverend Vicki Woods, a longtime civic and clerical leader in the Worcester Community. She has been a member of the Worcester Community Connections Steering Committee- a parent-driven coalition whose mission is to support Worcester families by coordinating resources already in the community. She has also been the driving force in the development of the newly opened Parent Center pilot initiative at the WCAC.
S. Paul Reville, Chairman of the Board of Education and Secretary of Education Designate, will be the keynote speaker.
If you are interested in attending this event, please contact Lisa Johnson at the Worcester Community Action Council at (508) 754-1176 ext. 128. Cost is $35 to attend and seating is limited. All proceeds benefit the Worcester Community Action Council.