Northwestern Mutual Foundation honors top community volunteers in 2012

Nonprofits supporting military veterans and children with disabilities among those awarded $275,000 in grants as a tribute to winners

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Northwestern Mutual

Sep 26, 2012, 09:00 ET

MILWAUKEE, Sept. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwestern Mutual, through its Foundation, is donating $275,000 to 26 nonprofit organizations across the U.S., recognizing winners of its 18^th annual Community Service Award program. The national competition, open to more than 11,500 Northwestern Mutual financial representatives and interns, recognizes exemplary volunteer commitment to charitable organizations and philanthropic projects.

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For his dedication to the Lone Survivor Foundation, John Folkert, CLU, has been named Northwestern Mutual's "Most Exceptional Volunteer." Through the nonprofit, Folkert, a Byron Center, Mich., resident helps provide therapeutic outdoor opportunities to aid in healing and empowering those affected by combat injuries and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The Northwestern Mutual Foundation recently awarded a $25,000 grant to the nonprofit in the wealth management advisor's honor. The grant will be used to sponsor 10 retreats for wounded service members and their families.

Chad Monheim, a Northwestern Mutual financial representative intern and Webster, N.Y., resident, is this year's Intern Community Service Award winner. Daystar for Medically Fragile Infants, Inc. will receive a $10,000 grant in honor of his exceptional service work. For the past four years, Monheim, who has a brother with developmental disabilities, has been at the forefront of volunteering for the organization. The grant money will help fund the construction of a new facility for Daystar, which will expand care for 30 full-time medically fragile children from the Greater Rochester, N.Y., area.

The Northwestern Mutual Foundation is also recognizing and honoring 24 "Outstanding Volunteers" for their achievements with a grant of $10,000 to each organization they represent (see list of winners below). Since the inception of Northwestern Mutual's Community Service Award program, over $3 million dollars has been contributed to more than 300 nonprofit organizations nationwide.

"John, Chad and our other award winners set the standard for strengthening the communities they live in through passionate volunteerism," said John Kordsmeier, president, Northwestern Mutual Foundation. "We hope that their community involvement is contagious and inspires others to get involved in causes that are close to their hearts."

Watch YouTube videos about John Folkert's story and Chad Monheim's story.

2012 Northwestern Mutual Community Service Award Winners

Name	Organization	Grant Amount	Office City	Office State
John Folkert, CLU	Lone Survivor Foundation	$25,000	Grand Rapids	Mich.
Gary Bolno	Defenders of Children	$10,000	Scottsdale	Ariz.
Kevin Kaveney, CLTC	Citizen Soldier Connection	$10,000	Colorado Springs	Colo.
Kristin Francisco	Women's Fund of Miami-Dade	$10,000	Miami	Fla.
Graham Hill, CLU, ChFC, CFP	Fireside Ministries & Industries/Kingdom Here (FMI)	$10,000	Augusta	Ga.
Robert Yale, CLU, AEP	The Hadley School for the Blind	$10,000	Northbrook	Ill.
Laurie A.Z. Bitter, CLU, ChFC, CFP, CASL	Ecker Center for Mental Health	$10,000	Elgin	Ill.
Michael Mathews, CLU, ChFC, CFP	Servants at Work, Inc.	$10,000	Indianapolis	Ind.
Will Hornsby, CLU, ChFC	The Salvation Army – New Orleans Area Command	$10,000	Metairie	La.
Allen Snyder III, CLU, ChFC, CLTC	Massachusetts Prostate Cancer Coalition, Inc.	$10,000	Boston	Mass.
Scott Rollin	The Richard M. Schulze Family American Cancer Society Hope Lodge	$10,000	Edina	Minn.
Bill Archbold	Marshall Volunteer Fire Dept.	$10,000	Marshall	Minn.
Nikki Crawford	United Way of Greater St. Louis	$10,000	St. Louis	Mo.
Andrew Rose, CLU	Step Up Ministry	$10,000	Raleigh	N.C.
John Gianacaci	Christine's Hope for Kids Foundation	$10,000	Princeton	N.J.
Lynn Chiavaro, CLTC	PowerPlay NYC Inc.	$10,000	Montvale	N.J.
Chad Monheim	Daystar for Medically Fragile Infants	$10,000	Fairport	N.Y.
Stacey Sinko	Achievement Center for Children	$10,000	Cleveland	Ohio
Carol Boeckley	PregnancyCare of Cincinnati	$10,000	Cincinnati	Ohio
Daniel Jenkins, CLU	Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburg	$10,000	Pittsburgh	Pa.
Stephen Grant, CLU	Gateway House, Inc.	$10,000	Greenville	S.C.
David Lively	Friendship Diner, First Broad Street United Methodist Church	$10,000	Kingsport	Tenn.
Roger McQueen, CLU	Salt Lake Community College Foundation	$10,000	Salt Lake City	Utah
Leo Tucker, CLU	Tiger Woods Foundation	$10,000	McLean	Va.
Christopher Poe, CLU, ChFC, CFP	I Have A Dream Foundation	$10,000	Charlottesville	Va.
Eileen Gillespie, CLU, CASL, CLTC	Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital Foundation	$10,000	Milwaukee	Wis.

About the Northwestern Mutual Foundation

The mission of the Northwestern Mutual Foundation – the largest corporate foundation in the state of Wisconsin – is to build strong, vibrant communities that serve as a legacy to future generations. The Foundation's giving is designed to create an impact on the communities where the company's employees and financial representatives live and work. In fiscal year 2012, the Foundation will contribute $16.7 million to nonprofit organizations across the country.

About Northwestern Mutual

The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company – Milwaukee, WI (Northwestern Mutual) – among the "World's Most Admired" life insurance companies in 2012 according to FORTUNE® magazine – has helped clients achieve financial security for more than 155 years. As a mutual company with $1.2 trillion of life insurance protection in force, Northwestern Mutual has no shareholders. The company focuses solely and directly on its clients and seeks to deliver consistent and dependable value to them over time. Northwestern Mutual and its subsidiaries offer a holistic approach to financial security solutions including: life insurance, long-term care insurance, disability insurance, annuities, investment products, and advisory products and services. Subsidiaries include Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC, broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, member FINRA and SIPC; the Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company, limited purpose federal savings bank; and Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Company; and Russell Investments.