In April 2010 we announced the 2009 recipients of our peer-nominated awards program for United Way Toronto staff, the M-B Family Spirit Awards. This program is made possible by a generous donation from Raksha Bhayana, a member of our Board of Trustees.
Nominations were received in three categories: Dedication, Leadership and Team Achievement.
2009 M-B Family Spirit Award Nominations
Dedication
- Irene Brenner
- Jena Chiu
- Caralyn Cipin
- Mia Holmgren
- Joanna King
Leadership
- Amanuel Melles
- Christina Politis
- Lisa Watson
Team Achievement
- HUBS Team: Lorraine Duff, Fawzia Ratanshi, Rhonda Leeson, Rosario Pascua, Scott Perchall, Glenn Ewald, Liz Marshall, Jamie Robinson, Susan Vardon, Steve Lavery
- Business & Financial Planning for fiscal year 2010/2011: Denise Luck, Kathryn Minns, Bela Frazao, Naaz Mohamed, Alex Chambers
2009 M-B Family Spirit Award Recipients
Dedication
The purpose of this award is to recognize and reward those who are committed to the mission and values of the United Way. These individuals demonstrate unwavering loyalty and commitment to the success of a specific project and/or to the ongoing interests of United Way.
In 2009, there were two recipients in the Dedication category.
Caralyn Cipin, Director of Community Investment Operations, was nominated for her relentless desire to improve UWT’s processes and her drive to streamline the fund distribution and agency review processes.
Caralyn has devoted over 20 years of her professional life to United Way. Her quiet way of sharing her knowledge has made her a force in the organization. Her contributions to projects and initiatives are always well thought out and reflective of how value can be added to United Way, our member agencies, volunteers and staff.
In the words of her nominators, "Caralyn believes in United Way Toronto’s mission and she lives it every day. She is well respected by all and has a positive impact on anyone who crosses her path."
Mia Holmgren, Administrative Assistant in the Resource Development, was nominated for her high standards of professionalism. Mia continuously strives for excellence and stands out as she thinks about her work and makes suggestions for improvement.
Mia plays a key role in the training, recognition and communications activities of the Resource Development department. The programs and activities she coordinates include: the sponsored employees, Spirit Awards, volunteer training, celebration dinner and Thanks a Million recognition.
As her nominators put it, "Mia is a dedicated employee who continuously goes above and beyond to meet the needs of her department. Year over year, Mia demonstrates the qualities that this award is intended to honour."
Leadership
As we work together to create opportunities for a better life for everyone, United Way’s great leaders embrace the selfless qualities that empower others to do their best and achieve great things. The Leadership Award recognizes and rewards those employees with exemplary leadership capabilities who play an exceptional role in helping others contribute to United Way and the success of our mission.
Christina Politis, Director of Volunteer Engagement, was nominated for her leadership on the Resource Development team. Her staff describes her as a leader that is the same on the inside as she is on the outside. She is a leader who demonstrates the utmost integrity and honesty in everything she does.
Christina is very approachable — she has an open door policy and is always there to lend a helping hand. Christina motivates groups with ease — she is a consummate relationship builder. She is a natural leader who has a high level of energy. She has integrity and encourages not only her team but everyone she encounters.
To quote her nominators, "Christina is incredibly supportive of her staff and inspires by example. She does whatever it takes to complete the task at hand and never asks anyone to do something that she is not willing to do herself. She is a true leader."
Naaz Mohamed, Bela Frazao, Denise Luck.
Team Achievement
At United Way we bring people together from all walks for life to build a better city. Internally, our teams are made up of individuals who are all working together toward a common goal — collectively these individuals demonstrate commitment to success through their excellent and consistent performance and professionalism, their exceptional service over a sustained period, their team spirit and their support of colleagues. The Team Achievement Award recognizes and rewards teams who make significant contributions to United Way and work towards achieving our mission.
2010/2011 Business and Financial Planning Team: Alex Chambers, Bela Frazao, Denise Luck, Kathryn Minns, and Naaz Mohamed
The Business and Financial Planning 2010/2011 team developed and implemented a new, fully integrated Business and Financial Planning process for 2010/11 — a project that was key to strengthening United Way Toronto’s annual business and financial planning processes.
From the beginning the team established an excellent process with clear timelines to ensure all fully understood the expected deliverables. Collectively, the team went above and beyond the call of duty regularly.
As consummate professionals, they worked to ensure that strong linkages between the business planning deliverables and resource implications were created, shared and maintained.
In the words of their nominator, "The fiscal and financial planning team consistently demonstrated the principles of teamwork in that no matter who you asked for help they were able to assist and were up to date on all the issues. And, they did all of this with great patience, support and humour."
