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Sept. 10, 2003
CRUCITTI HONORED FOR OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEER WORK
OSWEGO -- Patti Crucitti never expects any
recognition from volunteering. That's why she was surprised to learn
she had won the Bernie G. Henderson Community Service Award, given for
outstanding volunteer contribution by a SUNY Oswego employee.
Given the many community causes she supports, the
recognition for Crucitti, a maintenance assistant assigned to the paint
shop at SUNY Oswego, is hardly surprising. In nominating Crucitti for
the award, co-worker Anne Demm cited a long list of volunteer
activities, from working with the Salvation Army to forming a breast
cancer survivors' group on campus.
Asked why she dedicates so much of her time to
helping others, Crucitti just shrugs. Her volunteering is ultimately
done for "self-satisfaction," Crucitti said. "I think that's what
life's about."
A campus employee since 1990, Crucitti has helped
serve Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners at the Salvation Army for more
than a decade. When her children were in school, she helped the
Buccaneer Boosters raise money for Oswego High School athletes for
several years.
For nearly 15 years, she has helped register teams
for Softball in the Snow, an annual on-campus event that supports
Special Olympics. She has also coached four sports for that
organization.
After losing friends to breast cancer, Crucitti took
up the cause of helping raise funds and supporting survivors. While she
has not had the disease, she helped found the breast cancer survivors'
group that meets on campus every Thursday.
"We walk in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Walk in
Syracuse every year in support of friends and loved ones," she said.
Crucitti has done the walk for about a decade, while the campus group
started participating after forming a few years ago.
Crucitti plants flowers in local parks through the
Greater Oswego Chamber of Commerce's Project Bloom. She serves as a
resource for Crossroads, Right to Know and Triangle of Truth,
organizations that help adopted children find their birth parents.
She currently is training for Red Cross
certification to help with emergencies and disasters. That
direction came about naturally, when she volunteered to assist people
displaced by the ice storm in April.
"The children are all grown," Crucitti said of her
two daughters. "Volunteering gives me something to
do in my spare time."
The Bernie G. Henderson Community Service Award,
established in 2001 as part of SUNY Oswego's annual employee
recognition program, is named for the retired vice president for
finance and budget known for his longstanding service with many
community organizations.
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