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Area pals nominated for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis AwardTuesday, June 19, 2007 It's an honor just to be nominated. Actors vying for an Academy Award usually say this. Rarely does anyone believe them. Somehow, however, when Dominick Jones-Moriarty and Warren Butler make that statement, it rings true. Tonight, the two young men are in Washington, D.C., where they will learn if they are among five national Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award winners for outstanding local community service chosen from regional Jefferson Award winners. Mr. Butler of Northview Heights and Mr. Jones-Moriarty of Sheraden are representing the region as local Jefferson Award recipients for their volunteer work at Allegheny Youth Development, a North Side program for at-risk young men. They also attended the program as youngsters. Over the past four years, the two 23-year-olds have amassed 663 volunteer hours, developing and running AYD's basketball, Boy Scout, and fitness and weight-training programs. Last year, both averaged 17 hours per week in addition to holding down full-time jobs. "Just being nominated and acknowledged and just being a part of the process of the awards is good enough for me," said Mr. Jones-Moriarty, a paraprofessional at John Morrow Elementary School, Brighton Heights. Mr. Butler, his best friend and co-nominee, said he is excited about making his first trip to the nation's capital. "I don't know what to expect because I've never done it before," he said. Established in 1973, the Jefferson Awards are presented in five categories ranging from "Greatest Public Service by an Elected Official" to "Outstanding Service Benefitting Local communities." Last night, Jefferson Award recipients attended a welcome dinner at the Mayflower Hotel. Today, they're scheduled to go sightseeing before attending a reception with their U.S. senators. Brian Foltz, executive director for AYD, will be in Washington, D.C., also to lend his support. "Nobody who does volunteer work does it for awards. That's not the reason anybody goes into it," he said. "If you get the chance to inspire other people to do it, this is quite an opportunity." He said the recognition of Mr. Jones-Moriary and Mr. Butler hopefully will raise awareness of the need for young adult mentors and the need for programs that try to counter the negative influences that young men often face. Whether he receives a national Jefferson Award or not, Mr. Jones-Moriarty said he is happy working with the youngsters participating in AYD. "My reward is these guys coming to the program on a daily basis and demonstrating to me that they want to change," said. "They want to have a success story to tell their kids when they have them." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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HOME | Who We Are | Our Members | Programs | Our People | Volunteer @ AYD | Give to AYD | Site map 2436 California Avenue | Pittsburgh
PA 15212 | 412-322-5040
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Monica
Haynes can be reached at 
