Redevelopment of Norris University Center’s East Lawn to begin this summer
April 5, 2024
EVANSTON, Ill. --- Eleven volunteers from the Evanston area were honored at a reception April 10. The reception was a joint venture between Northwestern, Evanston Township High School, the City of Evanston and the Evanston Community Foundation.
Northwestern honorees:
• Caroline Linden volunteers with LIFT Evanston, working one-on-one with community members to help them find jobs, housing and make ends meet.
• Savan Patel is one of the chairs of the community outreach section of Northwestern Community Development Corps. He acts as student liaison between the organization and Northwestern students.
• La Donna Smith also works with LIFT Evanston. She currently serves as a student director. Her devotion to clients is “unmatched by any student I have worked with,” according to her supervisor.
School honorees:
• Hannah Cusick (St. Scholastica) volunteers with the Evanston School Children’s Clothing Association, where she assists children with finding a school wardrobe.
• Tyler Dixon (ETHS) volunteers with Youth Organizations Umbrella, organizing events and facilitating social groups at Nichols Middle School.
• Natalie Jacobson (ETHS) volunteers with several local food banks and soup kitchens and is the head of the soup kitchen committee at Evanston Township High School.
Community honorees:
• Lynn Hyndman works with Schools Are Gardening in Evanston and is the driving force behind making the Dawes Elementary School garden successful.
• Marcia Mahoney works with The Mighty Twig and is always on call to lead the volunteer staff at this alternative library experiment to ensure the Twig is able to operate for 38 hours each week.
• Julie Neely works with Senior Connections, visiting with local seniors and using her graphic design skills to help promote the organization.
• Alex Piper works with YWCA Evanston/North Shore, using her talent in cooking at a domestic violence shelter.
• Ralph Starenko works with Interfaith Action of Evanston and has spent more than a decade feeding the hungry and homeless and staffing warming centers during cold months.
