Parker Award

The Social Justice Committee reviews nominations, selects the recipient, and plans and executes the award ceremony and celebration for the presentation of the award. If you are interested in participating, send an email to [email protected] and we will put you in touch with the committee chair.

What is the Parker Award?
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The Parker Award was established in 1985 as a memorial for T. Richard Parker, a leader in the Unitarian Church of Jamestown. His wife, Patricia Appleyard Parker, wrote a column in the Jamestown Post-Journal for many years.
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Recipients of the award are usually individuals whose work has not been widely recognized in other ways. The award carries a monetary gift from an endowment fund. A committee of church members decides upon the award recipient each year, after soliciting nominations from individuals and organizations in the area.

Click here for guidelines approved at a Congregational Meeting held on January 20, 1985.

Jeffrey Victor presents the 2020 Parker Award to Lily Grice representing the Jamestown Mobile Market.

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Recipients of the Parker Award for Social Justice

• 1985 -- Anna May Cole 
  Literacy work with prisoners in state and local prisons
• 1986 -- Carol Adams and Rev. Bruce Buchanan
  Work on behalf of battered women and the racial minorities in Dunkirk
• 1988 -- Brian Willson
  Efforts to end U.S. military aid to the contras in Nicaragua
• 1989 -- Frances Taft
  Efforts to establish friendly links between the peoples of the United States and the Soviet Union
• 1990 -- Ronald Graham
  Work on behalf of underprivileged children and the formation of the Jamestown Striders and Lighted Schoolhouse program
• 1991 -- Rev. Margaret Monroe-Cassel
  Work to build inexpensive housing for the poor with Habitat for Humanity
• 1992 -- The Ebony Task Force
  Efforts to help African-American children and to improve relations between the races in Jamestown
• 1993 -- Rev. Nicholas Rafael
  Work in founding Saint Susan's Soup Kitchen and on behalf of poor people
• 1994 -- Rev. Everett Seastrum
  Assistance to Spanish-speaking newcomers to the Jamestown area
• 1994 – Gregory Rabb
  Efforts to bring professional counseling to gay and lesbian young people and  protect their civil liberties
• 1995 -- Mary Ceci
  Work on behalf of mentally handicapped children
• 1996 -- Keith and Susan Blake
  Work in establishing an after-school tutorial program for under-privileged children
• 1998 -- George and Irene Lawn
  Contributions to the civil rights movement and to prevent neighborhood deterioration
• 1999 -- Russell Tilaro
  Establishing programs to help people with AIDS in the Jamestown area
• 2000 -- Bill DeTally
  Efforts to establish better understanding and relations between the races
• 2001 -- David Shepherd
  Work with several community organizations that serve the needs of disadvantaged people 
• 2003 – Robert G. Allison
  Efforts in support of conservation of natural habitats with the Chautauqua Watershed Conservatory
• 2005 – Gregory Peterson
  Work in creating the Robert H. Jackson Center for Justice
• 2007 – Jennifer Liuzzo
  Work in creating the “Infinity” music program for disadvantaged youth
• 2009 -- Northside Pride
  Citizen-based efforts to halt housing deterioration in their neighborhood
• 2011 – Helga Hulse
  Giving piano and choir lessons to inmates at the county jail
• 2015 – Jamestown Pride Society
  Efforts to end derogatory stereotyping of gay and lesbian people via community education
• 2017 – Rev. Ruby Wiles
  For providing free children's books to poor children to encourage reading
• 2020 - Jamestown Mobile Market
  For its volunteer work bringing fresh food to neighborhoods in Jamestown which lack the availability of fresh food
• 2024 - Wellness and Forensic Center of Western New York & Northwestern Pennsylvania
  For starting a medical clinic, the first of its kind in the state, to attend to the medical and psychological care of victims of sexual violence