2007 Heroes of Everyday Life

Beyond the Call of Duty

Each year, the Sodexho Foundation recognizes Sodexho employees who invest their time, talent, and service spirit in helping some of the 35 million people who are at risk of hunger in the United States. Nominated by a colleague, friend, or employer, selected Heroes are honored by the Sodexho Foundation and a donation is made to their local hunger-related charities of choice.

To learn more about the nomination process, click here. If you want to nominate a Sodexho employee who has made a difference in the fight against hunger, click here to submit their nomination online.

Our 2007 Heroes of Everyday Life are:

Peter Burgos, Sous Chef
Corporate Services, Camden, NJ
Taking hunger personally and making a personal commitment to make a difference are what set Peter Burgos apart. On any given Tuesday night you will find him at The Bridge, a teen drop-in center in Camden, NJ. For the last 14 years he has volunteered his time each week to support and mentor 35 to 40 at-risk youths. Since March 2006, Peter has facilitated a support program for underprivileged and troubled youth, serving 15 to 20 kids as a youth partnership coordinator for the Camden County Family Support Organization.

Christine Colaguori, Cashier
School Services, West Long Branch, NJ
Christine Colaguori knows how to get things done. In 1998, she began volunteering for the St. Michael’s St. Vincent de Paul Society, coordinating themed food drives and fundraisers. Christine engages young people in the area who organize donations and collect more than a ton of food every month. That food helps to feed between 60 to 90 families, assisting them to become self-sufficient. Christine was nominated to the board in 2005 and currently serves as St. Michael’s St. Vincent de Paul Society’s Board Secretary.

JoAnn Coppi, Office Manager
Corporate Services, Waltham, MA
JoAnn Coppi recognizes that the problems of hunger and poverty are inter-related. For the last eight years, she has coordinated and implemented food drives, coat and blanket drives, Thanksgiving meal programs and fundraisers that help fight hunger and poverty. JoAnn has collected and donated more than 25,000 pounds of food, 100 blankets and coats, spent countless hours coordinating these events and volunteering, and raised thousands of dollars for the Sodexho Foundation and Bristol Lodge/Sandra's Lodge.

Dan Durand, General Manager
Corporate Services, Eagan, MN
Since 2000, Dan has led efforts to engage Sodexho employees in the Twin Cities area to prepare and serve meals for Loaves and Fishes at Creekside Community Center in Bloomington, MN.  Here Dan works to ensure that every person he meets gets their daily serving of food, dignity, and respect, regardless of their socioeconomic, cultural, or ethnic background.  To date, Dan has served more than 6,000 meals.  A driving force, he also raises money year round through personal donations, golf tournaments and a variety of other fundraisers.  He also recruits Sodexho managers and families to volunteer and get involved.

Michael Gattis, Executive Chef
Corporate Services, Camden, NJ
In 2005 Mike led efforts to coordinate the 1st annual Food Bank of South Jersey’s Chili Cook-off Challenge.  More than a dozen Sodexho teams compete in this annual cook-off that has raised more than $10,000 to date.  More recently, Mike volunteered as a consultant to help launch and implement a Kids Café program which serves free meals to 250 low-income children. Every Thanksgiving since 2003, Mike has organized and prepared a Thanksgiving meal for 350 children at the Boys and Girls Club in Camden, NJ. A role model in his district, Mike mobilizes Sodexho managers to volunteer their time to fight hunger through his involvement in programs like Crossroads and Philabundance.

Paul Laauwe, Jr., Chef Manager
Corporate Services, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
When Paul Laauwe prepares and serves meals to 20 homeless men at his local shelter every other Friday night from November through April, he dishes out hope with every serving. To sustain this vital program, he has raised $15,000.  In addition, for the past 15 years, long before the Hurricane Katrina brought public awareness of the plight of people in the region, Paul has donated his time to collect and deliver tractor trailer loads of vital household items, clothing and non-perishable food to people living in the Mississippi Delta. But his efforts don’t stop there. Since 2000 Paul has been educating youth about the issue of hunger through World Vision’s 30-hour famine, mobilizing them to raise more than $60,000. Finally, Paul coordinates fundraisers year round to sustain many of the programs he supports.

Tim Lockett, General Manager
Campus Services, Norfolk, VA
Tim Lockett knows how to motivate people. Every Wednesday he leads a team of Sodexho employees and student volunteers to prepare and package 1,500 meals for the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia’s Kids Café program, providing free meals to low-income children. Last year alone, they prepared 25,000 meals. Since 2002, he has supported the Foodbank’s annual Empty Bowls fundraiser, hosting the event on campus and preparing soup that is served to attendees to raise approximately $15,000 per year for the Foodbank. 

Mike Yore, General Manager
Healthcare Services, LaGrange, IL
Since 2004, Mike Yore has led the STOP Hunger efforts in partnership with the Greater Chicago Business Forum.  By coordinating cross-divisional activities during Sodexho Servathon and year round to fight hunger and poverty, he has helped raise thousands of dollars.  He supports the local Community Kitchen program by helping to place 30 culinary students in internships with Sodexho and 10 students in full time employment with Sodexho. Mike also finds the time to coordinate two food drives a year at his account, collecting more than 1,700 pounds of food for CBS (Cicero-Berwyn-Stickney) Food Bank and 2nd Baptist Church of LaGrange.  More recently, in partnership with our client, Mike has led the food preparation to provide meals for the local Public Action to Deliver Shelter (PADS) program.

Congratulations to all for helping to make a difference in the communities we serve.

2007 Heroes, Press Announcement
2006 Heroes, Press Announcement
2005 Heroes, Press Announcement
2004 Heroes
2003 Heroes
2002 Heroes
2001 Heroes
2000 Heroes

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