Help Honor A Brooklyn Do-Gooder!

Know someone who’s kickin’ butt for the community, using time, talent or charity? Let’s help get them paid.

The Brooklyn Community Foundation, a borough-wide charitable organization, is throwing the first-ever online Brooklyn Do Gooder Awards campaign to identify and honor local selfless heroes. But they need you to identify individuals who display an outstanding sense of giving back locally – nominate and vote for candidates online.

“The work of the Brooklyn Community Foundation is to encourage giving and service to our communities,” said Marilyn Gelber, the president of the Brooklyn Community Foundation. “Through this effort we hope to recognize those Brooklynites who are giving back everyday to make our borough stronger and kinder.”

The organization is looking for do-gooders in the following categories: Arts for All, Caring Neighbors, Community Development, Education and Youth Achievement and Green Communities. Each of the five winning Brooklyn Do Gooders will receive an award as well as $5,000 to be used as a reinvestment in a recognized charitable entity working in Brooklyn.

Online voting will help determine 20 Brooklyn Do Gooder finalists, after which a distinguished panel of judges will choose the winners.  Judges currently include WNYC’s Laura Walker, Freelancer Union’s Sara Horowitz, MoCADA’s Laurie Cumbo, award-winning author Peter Hedges and other local leaders.

Nominations are being collected through September 30. Online voting will be open from October 1 to October 15, 2010. The community celebration, “Brooklyn Does Good” takes place on November 3, 2010.