Bill Brown (left) accepts the Best Collaborative Effort of the Year Award on behalf of Joe Murphy, who was unable to attend with Darlene Macrina Supnick (right).
The Nonprofit Development Center of Southern New Jersey (NDCSNJ) held its 11th annual awards ceremony in Mt. Laurel on Tuesday, Sept. 24 where they honored a number of notable leaders and nonprofits in South Jersey including Haddonfield’s “Ballroom Dancing for the Blind and Visually Impaired.”
This year, for the first time, the NDCSNJ honored two individuals or nonprofits per category.
“Since 2006, the NDCSNJ has been dedicated to supporting area non-profits in delivering essential services and fulfilling their missions,” said MaryAnn Ragone DeLambily, NDCSNJ Awards Event chairperson. “We are proud to play a part in helping them excel by providing networking, training, education, capacity building, promotion and more.”
“I’ve been in this space for more than 35 years, so my favorite thing about the event is bringing visibility to nonprofits that would not normally get any other visibility other than this,” said Nicole Nance, executive director of NDCSNJ. “We get to showcase amazing work that they do, they do it every day whether they make a dollar or don’t make a dollar, whether they have a big budget or a shoe string budget, and it’s so rewarding to be able to say, ‘Wow, look at this group, they’re doing it with or without millions of dollars and look at how many people they impact just because of their heart.’
” … The work (nonprofits) do every day–often behind the scenes and without much fanfare–touches lives in profound ways.”
This year’s award recipients included the following:
- NPO Young Professionals of the Year: Kellie Haines (WheatonArts, based in Millville) and Rachael Glashan Rupisan (Alice Paul Institute, based in Mt. Laurel).
- Best Collaborative Effort of the Year: Forgotten Angels Equine Rescue based, based in Medford (Darlene Macrina Supnick), Ballroom Dancing for the Blind and Visually Impaired (Joe Murphy, Haddonfield).
- NPO Community Partners of the Year: Angelo Harold (Owner of TeamHarold Transportation and co-owner of Stand Out From The Crowd Rentals and Inflatables) and Dr. June DePonte Sernak (Center for Family Services, based in Camden).
- NPO Executives of the Year: Lucy DuBose (Faces of Change Inc, based in Camden) and Patricia Legge (Volunteer UP Legal Clinic, based in Camden).
- NPOs of the Year: Tri-State Canine Response Team, based in Cherry Hill and GateKeepers Ministry, based in Pennsauken.
- Chairman’s Awards: New Jersey Center for NonProfits based in Mercerville and Volunteer Center of South Jersey based in Sewell/Jersey Cares based in Livingston.
The NDCSNJ was started 18 years ago when three people had a vision of bringing professional development for nonprofits to South Jersey, Nance shared.
“You have many people who start a nonprofit just out of their passion, out of their zeal, some people out of trauma, some people out of joy, some people, just out of their heart …,” Nance said. “They just want to do good and help people and want to do something to make their mark on the world. You’ve got to follow guidelines and follow rules, so we help with that.”
One of the two Best Collaborative Award of the Year awards went to Haddonfield resident Joe Murphy, as the initiative involved collaborative efforts from the Haddonfield Lions, who have a goal of helping the blind and visually impaired; dance instructor Gene la Pierre who had experience; and employees from Best Works Industries, that employs many blind workers as well as volunteers from the Haddonfield 65 Club, Rotary Club, Dance Haddonfield and Grace Episcopal Church who assisted as drivers.
More recently, the program has expanded from 10 to 30 dancers and has also involved the Haddonfield Memorial High School LEO Club to assist dancers from the cars up the stairs to the elevator and dance area, and the program has also expanded to the Philadelphia region.
To learn more about any of the nonprofits recognized, visit https://npdcsnj.org/.
