LN’s 2013 Charity Awards had something new this year: an online system that offered readers the opportunity to nominate individuals and organizations for their community service. Congratulations to our winners!

June

CITY ACADEMY received a $1 million gift from the Crawford Taylor Foundation for endowment. The gift supports the school’s efforts to offer an expanded Early Childhood Program. With the help of this grant, plans to expand to a total of 175 students by 2014 are in place. Pictured: D’Niya Ammons, Chantell Johnson and Chontell Johnson of City Academy's new Early Childhood Program.

For 2013, Circle Of Concern elected new directors, officers and executive directors: president NANCY PARKER, VP DOUG SCHAEFFLER, treasurer ROD BISHOP, secretary CALVIN HOLDERBY. New directors are SUE HOFFMAN, HARRY LEMAY, JUNE SCHROEDER and GREG SHOEMAKER. CHRIS PALLOZOLA was promoted to executive director.

JDRF and its supporters will celebrate their commitment to a cure for Type 1 diabetes (T1D) with the annual Dream Gala, It's Black and White—A Cure is in Sight, on May 4 at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch.

For the second year, in a tight competition with less than 20 votes separating the top two churches, St. Paul's Catholic Church, Fenton, beat out St. Dominic Savio, Affton, to win Friendship Village Sunset Hills' Fourth Annual Quilting Competition. Several hundred voted in the week's competition and display of quilts from area churches at Fountain View, the freestanding assisted-living community at Friendship Village Sunset Hills. Pictured: Erlinda Madridondo, Ruth Finder, Donna Robinson and Mary Haukap (kneeling) proudly display their winning quilt.

“On Christmas Eve day, my husband Ray and I take all 24 grandchildren to the mall in the morning and meet in the food court. Then ‘Bud’ (what the grandchildren call Ray) gives each of them an envelope filled with their holiday money. They must then shop for whatever they want, come back and show off their purchases. It’s so much fun to see the kids (and now young adults) run off to shop and see what they can get. It’s even more fun to see how excited they are to show us their purchases! And, every now and then, Bud gets a call to ‘come quick!’ because a special purchase requires just a little more....”

Diabetes is one of the most prevalent diseases of modern society. An increasing number of people are developing this complex metabolic disease, in which high blood sugar occurs because the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or because the cells in the body do not respond to the insulin being produced.

Saturday 3

Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center

Ambassador Nancy Brinker was named Person of the Year at the George Herbert Walker School of Business at Webster University. Brinker is the founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer organization and a former U.S. Ambassador. Pictured: Walker School of Business dean Benjamin Akande, Webster president Elizabeth Stroble, Ambassador Nancy Brinker and Webster provost and senior VP Julian Schuster.

Saturday 6

KATHLEEN MCELLIGOTT (1) has been appointed to Fontbonne University’s board of trustees.

Friday 3 through Saturday 4