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Each month, Councilmember Anita Bonds highlights cornerstones of our community who make an extraordinary impact to the quality of life and general well-being of the residents of the District of Columbia.
Cornether Harris represents
the best of the District of Columbia through her actions of charity to friends and neighbors. At
96 years old, Ms. Harris has the health, vitality, and spirit to continue providing
assistance to our youth, the homeless, neighbors, young mothers, family, and her
fellow parishioners at Vermont Avenue Baptist Church. Ms. Harris prepares meals
for a sick friend, cares for a neighbor's child, and works to better her
community. These small deeds make large impacts upon the daily lives of those
she assists. Ms. Harris is most valued for her sage advice and compassionate
understanding attitude towards others problems.
Cornether’s kindness and generosity represent
many unsung heroes throughout the District and her lifetime of selfless charity deserves
to be recognized.
The Meehans have lived on
the 1700 block of Corcoran St. NW since 1967 and have taken an active
interest in their community since by founding the Riggs Place Civic
Association to combat drugs and crime in their neighborhood. They were both
instrumental in fighting the proposed "Three Sisters Bridge" and the accompanying
freeway that would have destroyed the character of the neighborhood and negatively
altered the District of Columbia.
Parents, foster parents and
god parents, Susan has devoted her time and resources as the District’s
patient advocate for those affected by drugs and alcohol and was an early proponent
for drug rehabilitation programs and criminal justice reform.
Bob once served as President
of Bread for the City and
currently serves as the Treasurer of the Friends Meeting of Washington.
Bob and Susan Meehan have each
served as the elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for ANC
2B03 as well as leaders of several civic associations. Recently, the Meehans played a role in helping to
reopen Ross Elementary. Currently, they devote their efforts to support and
grow the DuPont Circle Senior Village.
Mr. Deal is the founder and
director of African Heritage Dancers and Drummers. Melvin Deal has been
instructing African dance and drumming in Washington, DC for over 50 years
giving many young people an opportunity to learn culture, heritage, and
discipline while being exposed to new and exciting things. Mr. Deal, has
worked tirelessly in researching African cultural manifestations to be used
in the building of self-esteem and addressing the presence of violence, delinquency
and dysfunctional lifestyles and abuse in African-American communities.
The African Heritage Dancers
& Drummers, under Melvin Deal’s founding guidance has saved the lives of
thousands of At-Risk children and youth and has earned a renowned reputation
for excellence, locally, nationally and internationally.
Credited with performing the first Kwanzaa
ceremony and celebration in the Metro-Washington area in 1968, Mr. Deal is
known as the father of African culture in the Metro-Washington area. Melvin is
a Performance artist focusing on health and addiction issues with innovative
traditional African Masquerade presentations.
Lou Chibbaro, Jr. is a nationally recognized award-winning
journalist best known for chronicling the gay rights movement in the Washington,
D.C. area and nationwide in the United States as the senior news writer for the Washington Blade.
Mr.
Chibbaro is a trailblazing journalist who began writing for the Washington Blade in 1976. His reporting has covered the entire spectrum of the LGBTQ rights movement's history which includes politics and policy, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, protests, gays in the
military, religion, business, hate crimes, marriage equality, Presidents, people and celebrities, and so much more.
A well-regarded fixture in the LGBTQ community, Mr. Chibbaro
is also recognized for his continuing coverage of local DC activities,
organizations, businesses, politics, and government.
Photo by Michael Key, Washington Blade.
The Far Southeast
Family Strengthening Collaborative, Inc. (FSFSC) has been providing quality
family support services in Anacostia since their founding in 1996. The
collaborative helps build healthy families and supports thriving communities
that move people toward self-sufficiency and mutual support while bridging
support from neighborhood committees and other community health, mental
health, social service, and resident resources.
The FSFSC provides a wide range of community services
focused on children and their families including rapid housing, men and boy’s
development, youth aftercare, youth digital and telecommunications skill
building, and care coordination for emotionally disturbed children.
Former three-term Ward 7 Councilmember H. R. Crawford has a distinguished record of service to the District of Columbia as a public servant, real estate developer, elected official, and civic activist. He is particularly known for the development of quality affordable housing throughout the city.
Mr. Crawford served as an Assistant Secretary for Housing Management at the Department
of Housing and Urban Development and used his experience to develop or manage several properties including Edgewood, the
Washington Apartment in Shaw, the Kenesaw in Mount Pleasant, Anacostia Gardens Apartments, and Trinity Towers
Apartments in Columbia Heights.
Crawford served as Chairman of the Congress Heights Neighborhood Planning Council and as a long-serving member of the board of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
The Washington Post once wrote, "Crawford's largesse was not limited to the once-powerful. I've seen him deliver
food and cash to people who've never been near power and who couldn't do
anything in return but express their thanks."
Andrea Powell co-founded FAIR Girls in 2003 and
currently serves as Executive Director.
Since that time, Andrea has led FAIR Girls’ efforts to prevent the sex
trafficking and exploitation of girls in the United States and in FAIR Girls’
global programs in Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Russia, and Uganda and
currently serves as the FAIR Girls’ chief liaison to the D.C. Anti
Trafficking Task Force. Ms. Powell has trained hundreds of U.S. and international
audiences, including federal and local law enforcement, service providers,
state and federal policy makers and teachers on how to identify and assist child
victims of sex and forced labor trafficking.
Ms. Powell currently acts as
an adjunct professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George
Washington University teaching courses in global sex trafficking and girl's
empowerment.
Mr. Tony Crews is the Senior Vice
President of MBI Health Services.
The mission of MBI is to embrace,
advocate, and empower the minds and lives of men, women, and children
throughout the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area, but particularly focused on those who live in Wards 7 and
8.
Through his leadership and direction, Mr.
Crews has been able to recognize and realize the vision of providing a full range of mental
health and substance abuse services and community outreach programs designed to
foster independent living and resilience for healthier communities.
Mr. Crews has also been instrumental in coordinating
services and support tailored specifically for men of color, returning
citizens, and LGBTQ men who traditionally do not seek primary or preventive
care.
 We need your help to identify new Community Cornerstones Awards recipients.
Click here or on the image above to make a nomination today.
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