By:Jerry Burke
To buck this trend, the Town of Hempstead hosts an event every year before the holidays to honor local people we may not notice who are busy making their communities better places to live. This year, the town honored 14 such people, including an Elmont resident who, in her free time, prepares tax returns for free, teaches Sunday school, volunteers in a hospital and tutors children in math. Not bad for a full-time college student with excellent grades.
With youth being served at this year's eighth annual Make a Difference Awards ceremony in Hempstead Nov. 16, Cindy Jean, a junior at Hofstra and a resident of Elmont, fit right in on stage. The hardworking Jean has much more on her schedule than most college juniors. She takes part in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program at West Hempstead Library, a program that helps the disabled, disadvantaged and elderly fill out their federal and state tax returns.
After April, Jean takes to tutoring middle-school children in reading and math at the Uniondale Public Library. She also spends her weekends teaching toddlers in Sunday school and volunteering at Franklin Hospital Medical Center, where she assists geriatric patients and helps answer phones.
"Cindy has distinguished herself as an excellent student and a community volunteer," said Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray before presenting Jean with her award. "We know that her caring and compassion will be felt in the community for many years to come."
Also honored at the ceremony were 10-year-old Jacklyn Sullivan, of Wantagh, who adopted the Haiti Soccer Project as her cause and has collected hundreds of pairs of soccer cleats for children; and community activist Theresa Murphy of Rockville Centre, who was honored posthumously for the work she did even after being diagnosed with cancer.
Comments about this story? JBurke@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 234.
