SUNY-ESF’s Eileen Baldassarre receives Unsung Heroes Award

Baldassarre honored for extensive community service
1/10/2011

SYRACUSE - Eileen Baldassarre, administrative coordinator in the multicultural affairs office at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), was honored with the 2011 Unsung Heroes Award during the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on January 23.

Baldassarre was honored for her extensive dedicated service to others in the community.Her community service involvement includes volunteering at the Loretto Nursing Home and St. Leo's Church in Tully. She has spear-headed fund- raising efforts to help a family rebuild their home after a fire and another to send U.S. Olympiad Lopez Lomong's adoptive parents and coach to see him at the Olympic games in China in 2008. Baldassarre also organizes and assists with clothing and furniture drives for economically disadvantaged citizens and support of various outreach agencies.

At ESF, Baldassarre is the coordinator for the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP). In that capacity, she works with students and plans educational programs in the office of multicultural affairs.

The theme for this year's Martin Luther King Jr. celebration was "Heirs of a King: Remembering and Continuing the Work of Global Legacy." The awards are presented annually by Syracuse University to people who, in the spirit of King's "beloved community," have made a positive difference in the lives of others but who are not widely recognized for their efforts.