Tammy & Noel Cunningham receive Denver League of Women Voters award July 13

July 7th, 2010 9:13pm

The prestigious Spirit of Denver Awards given by the League of Women Voters of Denver (LWVD) July 13 honor four citizens who have given decades of outstanding service to the community:Tammy and Noel Cunningham, owners of Strings and 240 Union Restaurants, Mary Gittings Cronin, longtime executive director of the Piton Foundation and Sandra Shreve, who expanded voter service during her three years as LWVD president and has a statewide education award named after her.

The four will receive their awards at the Visions of the City Event 2010, Tuesday, July 13 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt, 1750 Hyatt St. Mayor John Hickenlooper will also give his Visions of the City address at 7:30 p.m.

“Tammy and Noel Cunningham have worked more than 20 years to make Denver and the world more humane,” said Nancy Ulrich, co-president of LWV- Denver. Their “Quarters for Kids” program encourages elementary children in social studies classes to research hunger and homelessness, then collect quarters to alleviate the problem. Over the years, the students have distributed more than half a million dollars, primarily to Samaritan House and Catholic Charities. 

Noel Cunningham and Billy Shore recruited restaurant owners to create Taste of the Nation, now national, that  raises funds to alleviate hunger. Known nationally as Share Our Strength (SOS), the food and wine-tasting events have raised millions and created the concept of social entrepreneurship – using business tactics to solve social justice problems. Through the Cunningham Foundation, Tammy and Noel have taken social entrepreneurship Yetabom, Ethiopia, where they helped establish a school, a hospital, organic vegetable gardens and thriving local businesses.

Scroll to earlier posts for information about Mary Gittings Cronin and Sandra Shreve.To register for the event, visit http://www.lwvdenver.org or call 303-3217571.

Posted in: Leadership

View / Add Comment | 0 Comment(s) | Rating: 0 of 5 | Share: Twitter, Facebook