The Greater Pittsburgh Dignity & Respect Campaign Council honored its 2014 Dignity & Respect Champions—14 individuals who demonstrate the importance of diversity, respect, value and compassion through their work and in their everyday lives—at their annual Salute to 2014 Dignity & Respect Champions Breakfast held Jan. 12 at the Cabaret at Theater Square on Penn Avenue, in downtown Pittsburgh.
The annual event, which is held in January, Dignity & Respect Month, highlights the previous year’s champions as well as its initiatives. Dignity & Respect champions are selected each month from nominations submitted by the community.
“I think that there is so much going on in the world being publicized, whether it be an individual or the police, that enhances stereotypes. There are so many things that are good, that get little recognition. Right here, there are people doing positive things who aren’t receiving the same degree of recognition as those who are doing negative things,” said Candi Castleberry-Singleton, founder and chair of the National Dignity & Respect Campaign and Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer at UPMC. She added that promoting people doing positive things inspires others to get involved.
The 2014 champions were: Laura Kelly of Innovation Works, January; Pamela Golden of the Pittsburgh Child Guidance Foundation, February; Sister Janice Vanderneck of Casa San Jose, March; Samuel Black of the Senator John Heinz History Center, April; Mary C. Parker of CORO Pittsburgh, May; East Liberty Presbyterian Church pastors, Rev. Heather Schoenewolf Rev. Randy Bush and Rev. Patrice Fowler-Searcey, June; Barbara Telthorster of ARC Indiana County, July; Oakland Catholic High School student Kathleen Horner, August; Marcus Poindexter of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, September; volunteer Monda Williams, October; Erin Springer of EQT, November; and Cynthia Stevans of Penn State Extension, December.
Golden said the honor was humbling, especially because the nomination was by someone else. “It’s an honor to have someone else recognize that I practice dignity and respect.” She added, “There’s so much tension in so many communities, now and days, so now more than ever it’s important to learn to treat people with dignity and respect, and learn how to have positive interactions with each other.”
Like Golden, Black was also proud of receiving the honor. He had no prior knowledge of the organization, he said, but once he learned of it and what they do, “it made me feel even better because of the mission and (that) in such a troublesome time there are people out there trying to breakdown those barriers that cause conflict.”
Black also said that the honor makes him more conscious of his behavior and attitude towards people.
“It reinforces that we need to have real harmony amongst ourselves in order to change the society we live in,” he said.
Along with recognizing community champions, the event also highlighted several of the Campaign’s initiatives that help individuals engage, or “make new friends,” with people that they might not otherwise have an opportunity to, in a way that is not awkward or uncomfortable. Last year’s initiatives included the STEPtember Fit Bit Challenge, STEPPittsburgh, the Dancing in the Street event to break the world line dancing record and the Lend A Hand: Ceramic Tile Event for Domestic Violence Awareness.
This week the Campaign will launch it’s newest initiative, “I Will Do My Part,” which urges individuals to do their part in addressing bullying in schools, sexual assault on campuses, domestic violence and community violence by taking a stand and participating in volunteer and fundraising efforts that assist in addressing these issues.
The Greater Pittsburgh region was the first community to launch the Dignity & Respect Campaign, which began in 2009. Since then, Castleberry-Singleton said the campaign has grown immensely; there are approximately 140,000 Facebook followers and approximately 240,000 pledges that have been taken on the website.
(For more information on the Dignity & Respect Campaign, visit https://dignityandÂrespect.Âorg/greaterpittsburgh)
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