cheers for my "sistah" Joannie

Six Minnesotans with long histories of service to their communities will receive the 2011 Virginia McKnight Binger Awards in Human Service. The McKnight Foundation will present the awards on Friday, September 9, at a private ceremony in Minneapolis.

The awards honor Minnesota residents who give their time to improve the lives of people in their communities. This year's outstanding recipients include community organizers, mentors, advocates, and champions of the underserved.

A committee of six people working in human service fields across the state selected the finalists from nearly 90 nominations.

"The six individuals honored with these awards have demonstrated great energy and compassion in their work to help others," says McKnight's Board Chair Robert J. Struyk. "By selflessly providing aid to those in need, they inspire all of us to do the same."

Since 1985, The McKnight Foundation has given the awards each year to recognize Minnesotans who demonstrate the difference one person can make in helping others. The awards are named for the Foundation's former chair and president, Virginia McKnight Binger. Mrs. Binger served the Foundation for nearly 50 years as a board member, as president from 1974 through 1987, and then as honorary chair until her death in 2002. Although her parents, William and Maude McKnight, established the Foundation, it was Mrs. Binger's personal compassion and generosity that set the standard for the Foundation's work.

Candidates for the awards are nominated confidentially by someone familiar with their work. No one may apply for them directly.

Among this years winner are

Joan Jarvis Ellison of Pelican Rapids helped organize an effort in the early 1980s to build a library in Pelican Rapids, which at the time was the largest community in Minnesota without one. The library was embraced by all, but Joan was not content to stop there. She spearheaded an array of multicultural programs aimed at fostering understanding between the growing immigrant population and old-time Pelican residents. The programs have flourished, as has the library, which has expanded to three times its original size.

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