NAUGATUCK — A longtime volunteer will be the first person in what Naugatuck Youth Services Executive Director Kristin Mabrouk hopes is a long line of Jane Lobdell Youth Advocacy & Action Award recipients.
Youth services will present the first Jane Lobdell Youth Advocacy & Action Award to borough native Jane Walsh, 74, on Feb. 11 during the organization’s second annual Keep Being Awesome Celebration.
“I am very honored by it. It is a nice award,” Walsh said.
The award is named in honor of the late Jane Lobdell, who served as director of the former Naugatuck Youth and Family Services for 19 years. The award recognizes a member of the Naugatuck community who has made a significant impact through advocacy and action on behalf of youth development, family enrichment and a healthy community.
“Jane (Lobdell) was a big figure in the community. She was always advocating and always fighting for the needs of youth in the community,” Mabrouk said.
Lobdell died in 2012, two years before Naugatuck Youth and Family Services transitioned from a borough department to a nonprofit organization.
Mabrouk said the award was also named after Lobdell in order to honor the organization’s past.
“Now that we are established as an organization it seems like a good time to include the past legacy piece as well,” Mabrouk said.
Mabrouk called Walsh, who retired from volunteering in 2017, a perfect fit for the award.
“She likes to know and help everyone, but she likes to be behind the scenes. She was very committed to all the different things related to youth,” Mabrouk said.
Walsh said she began volunteering with the organization in the late 1980s.
At the time, volunteering to help youth was nothing new to Walsh. She was already volunteering with her a local Girl Scout troop and church youth organizations.
“The reason I got involved in youth is I had two wonderful scout leaders. Our scout troops went cross country,” Walsh said. “When I became a scout leader we took our troop to the national Girl Scout camp. I think it is important for youth to have this kind of example to follow.”
Walsh said she was happy to have volunteered during the time when youth services transitioned from a borough agency to a nonprofit.
“I am very proud of what the agency has become. I am very proud to have worked with the agency that made it from a town agency to a nonprofit,” Walsh said. “One of the best moments was seeing the agency grow under the leadership of Kristin and walking in there and seeing how vibrant it is now.”
The Keep Being Awesome Celebration will be held at the Aria wedding and banquet facility at 45 Murphy Road in Prospect. The event starts at 1 p.m. Tickets are $75. For tickets or more information, contact youth services at 203-720-5675 or Bernice Rizk at 203-228-4011.
Mabrouk hopes to present the award annually to honor longtime volunteers like Walsh and teens who have made a difference in the community.
“It kind of outlines our mission. It’s about advocacy and action,” Mabrouk said. “There is always a need for advocacy and action on behalf of youth.”
