Women from Parkland and Coral Springs were among a dozen Broward County residents recently honored as “Hidden Heroes,” by the Community Foundation of Broward.
These “Broward Nonprofit Hidden Heroes” were selected for helping their organizations to continue to provide valuable services to their clients and the community during the pandemic.
Tina Cortez, of Coral Springs, was honored for her work as Director of the Wildlife Hospital at the Sawgrass Nature Center & Wildlife Hospital, which also is in Coral Springs.
“Tina’s dedication to the animals is evident by the exceptional wildlife care and rehabilitation she provides,” said Robin Reccasina, CEO of the wildlife hospital.
“Tina designed a contactless drop off for the public to drop off injured animals at our gate and responded to every drop off herself. Having no volunteers, she quickly cross-trained other staff to assist in animal care. She transferred many of the animals that were most critical to her home so she could give them 24-hour care.”
Samantha “Sam” Kelly, of Parkland, was honored for her work as Vice President of Rehabilitation Programs at Lighthouse of Broward for the Blind & Visually Impaired in Fort Lauderdale.
“Sam provided vision and leadership,” said Ellyn Drotzer, CEO of Lighthouse. “We knew we had to pivot to an online platform, but our clients’ fundamental lack of sight made this seem almost impossible. Sam led the creative plan to provide uninterrupted rehabilitative services. We closed the building on Friday and by Monday, all of our programming was transformed into an electronic format and services were constructed using a web-based platform.”
Cortez and Kelly and their organizations are featured in a virtual awards presentation video via YouTube here:
Other Broward Nonprofit Hidden Heroes are:
–Timothy Curtin, Executive Director of
Community Services, Memorial Healthcare System, Hollywood
–Rebecca “Becky” Gould, STEM Center for Education and Career Development Manager, Museum of Discovery & Science, Fort Lauderdale
–Tammy Holder, Teaching Artist-in-Residence, Broward Performing Arts Foundation, Fort Lauderdale
–Xenia McFarling, Vice President of Rehabilitation Programs, LifeNet4Families, Fort Lauderdale
–Natasha McFarquhar, Emergency Basic Needs Navigator, Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Broward County, Lauderhill
–Alex Nesar, Director of Construction, Habitat for Humanity of Broward, Fort Lauderdale
–Belinda Paulicin, Director of Program Services, Gilda’s Club of South Florida, Fort Lauderdale
–Sandra Powell, Regional Laboratory Manager, Broward Health, Fort Lauderdale
–Patricia “Pejay” Ryan, Director of Marketing, Broward Education Foundation, Fort Lauderdale
–Elise Samet, Volunteer Program Manager, Canine Assisted Therapy, Oakland Park
Each of the winners received a $500 award and a prize package that included a 2-night staycation at the Bahia Mar Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel and gift certificates from multiple restaurants. In addition, each of their nonprofit organizations received a monetary award of up to $25,000. For more information, visit www.cfbroward.link/HiddenHeroes.
