A longtime former member of Rochester City Council and current leader of an organization that provides services for local youth gets a top honor this week.
Elaine Spaull, who spent 12 years on City Council and is currently executive director of the Center for Youth, will be honored on Wednesday as the 85th recipient of the Rochester Rotary Award.
That award recognizes community members who personify the Rotary’s “Service Above Self” motto.
The Rotary said that it wants to honor Spaull for more than 45 years of service to the local community as an educator, lawyer, elected official, youth advocate and social activist.
The president of the Rochester Rotary, Jeff Halik, said that Spaull is fearless when it comes to tackling big problems.
“She’s highly motivated, so she’s looked at a number of problems in our community, involving children, young parents, and she’s been relentless in establishing solutions,” said Halik.
In a letter nominating Spaull for the award, Cheryl Gossin, a board member with the Center for Youth, referred to Spaull's work on behalf of babies at the center's crisis nursery, helping young people seek a better future, and advocating for "the LGBTQ young person who doesn't have anywhere else to turn for acceptance and housing." Gossin said that Spaull "is a blessing to countless families and youth in the Rochester community."
Spaull finds working with Rochester area youth particularly rewarding.
“Every day I will see or meet or hear about a young person, in a school, in the street, in the courts, somewhere where we have been a connector and basically have saved a life or made it possible for a young person to reach their dreams,” Spaull said.
Spaull noted that the Center for Youth provides many vital services, especially for young people who are facing challenging circumstances.
“We’re in schools, (providing) social emotional counseling, trying to help young people avoid being removed from school, stay on track, deal with conflict,” said Spaull, who said the Center for Youth is “the only agency now providing housing for unhoused homeless youth.”
The Rochester Rotary Award will be presented to Elaine Spaull on Wednesday, Sept. 20, in an event that runs rom 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the George Eastman Museum.
