Charles G. Uram Lifetime Service Award nominees sought

Staff Report

Nominations are being sought for the Charles G. Uram Lifetime Service Award, Rockford Cosmopolitan Charities, in partnership with the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, have announced.

This award recognizes and celebrates the achievements of a person who embodies the values demonstrated by the late Charles G. Uram.

Uram passed away Dec. 24, 2004, and is remembered as a friend and mentor to Rockford Cosmopolitan Charities and to the Rockford community as a whole.

He was a fund-raiser/volunteer for Crusader Clinic, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Hunger Connection, Lifescape Community Services, Rockford Rescue Mission, Rosecrance Health Network, The MILL, United Way, Wesley Willows, YMCA, the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois and others. He was honored by the Rockford Register Star with the Excalibur Award in 2004 for his exemplary service to the community.

Rockford-area non-profit organizations are eligible to nominate any living person who embodies the unwavering enthusiasm and selflessness Uram demonstrated in his service to the non-profit world. Nominees will be evaluated by the long-term impact their service has made to the nominating agency and the Rockford community, initiatives the individual has created, and how the individual displays the values Uram demonstrated throughout his life.

Past winners are Dale Sanders (2005), Harry Ritter (2006), Dan Loescher (2007), Jim Keeling (2008), Phil Turner (2009), Barbara Berman (2010) and John Mink (2011).

The individual selected for the award will be honored at the Community Foundation’s Annual Event at noon, Oct. 3, at Forest Hills Country Club. The nominating organization of the award-winner will receive a $5,000 donation from the Rockford Cosmopolitan Charities Club. Nominating organizations of the two award finalists will both receive $500.

Incorporated in 1958, the Rockford Cosmopolitan Club contributes to the community’s well-being through charitable donations and volunteer service with a special emphasis on supporting efforts to prevent and find a cure for diabetes.

The Community Foundation of Northern Illinois is the area’s largest provider of grants and scholarships. Its mission is to attract, grow and preserve an endowment for the needs of the people of northern Illinois.

Nomination forms are available online at the Community Foundation’s website at www.cfnil.org/connect-throughus/charles-uram-award/. Nominations are due by Aug. 15. Questions can be directed to Linda Sandquist at the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois at (815) 962-2110, ext. 12.

From the Aug. 1-7, 2012, issue