Rick Aguiar Social Justice Advocate Award

The Catholic Community of Pleasanton grants a Social Justice Advocacy Award to a person or persons in our parish or in the Tri-Valley community who pursues social justice efforts, so that he/she may be an example that encourages others to do likewise. The award is named the CCOP Rick Aguiar Social Justice Advocate Award in honor of a founder of our CCOP Social Justice Committee who worked for affordable housing in the Tri-Valley and for support for justice and aid for communities in El Salvador suffering from the Civil War from 1980-1992.

Past recipients have worked in various areas including pro-life efforts, support for AIDS victims, and anti-discrimination, detention ministry, affordable housing and the homeless, starting an orphanage in India, creating a school for girls in Guatemala, etc. The recipient does not need to be a member of our parish.

The award recipient is able to choose a non-profit organization to receive a $500 Social Justice Grant from CCOP. The Social Justice work of the recipient is highlighted by the parish to encourage others to also pursue social justice efforts.

NOMINATIONS WANTED!!!
The CCOP Social Justice Committee seeks nominations from parishioners for the Social Justice Advocate Award each year. In November or early December, the committee considers all nominations received and selects a worthwhile recipient.

Nominees should be members of our broader community who are actively working to achieve a more just and compassionate world. “Member of our community” should be interpreted in its broadest sense, so the award recipient does not need to be a member of our parish or a Catholic.
 
The award recipient will be highlighted by the parish and will designate a charity to receive a $500 grant. By bringing attention to the work of the award recipient, we hope to encourage an increase in Social Justice activity in our parish and elsewhere. The recipients of this award are recognized not to just honor them, but to give us all an example of the ways in which each of us can do Christ’s work for the poor and disadvantaged of our world.
 
If you would like to nominate someone to receive this award, please email socialjustice@catholicsofpleasanton.org or any member of the Social Justice Committee before November 1st and provide the following information:
  • Your name, email, and phone number
  • Name of person(s) you are nominating
  • Their contact information - Address, email address and phone
  • The social justice effort that the person is engaged in
  • Any particular reason why you think they should be recognized or that their work will serve as an example encouraging other parishioners to be engaged in social justice.
  • Including website links or other information about it may be helpful
Rick Aguiar Social Justice Advocate Award: 2022 Award Recipient
The Rick Aguiar Social Justice Advocate Award for 2022 was given to Mike Kozuch of CCOP for his work in Nicaragua with Círculo de Amigas Foundation, which promotes girls’ education in rural Nicaragua. A $500 award donation was made to Círculo de Amigas Foundation in Mike’s honor. The following is a note of appreciation received from Mike at that time.
December 22, 2022
Hello Deacon Joe and CCOP Social Justice Committee,
 
On behalf of the Circulo de Amigas Foundation, I want to express my deep appreciation for the generous award given to our work on girls’ education in Nicaragua. This work began with the intention of providing small grants to the families of girls in need so that they could remain in school until they complete their university education. Without this financial aid many girls never make it past elementary school.
 
We operate in Jinotega, a remote town in the Nicaraguan highlands where illiteracy is higher than in urban areas and children (especially girls) often work for their parents at an early age instead of going to school. Over the years we have seen numerous girls that began our program in elementary school and eventually graduated from university with degrees in veterinary science, natural resources, business and marketing, pharmacy, journalism and even hematology.
 
The grants not only support the families but also fund our community library, numerous workshops, and outreach, as well as provide a small stipend to our tutor and in-country staff. Before the pandemic we were able to directly impact the lives of nearly 5,000 individuals through the various workshops that we run on site in collaboration with the health ministry, the local police department and other agencies. There are still many girls in need, and we always welcome sponsorships or one-time donations to help alleviate poverty one girl at a time.
 
For more information please visit: https://www.camigasfoundation.org/
A short 6 min video that I made many years ago is here: https://youtu.be/EgP_OPN4sBE

Our annual report for last year is attached below.

Again, thank you CCOP!
-Mike Kozuch
Volunteer / Sponsor / Board Member
Circulo de Amigas Foundation
Rick Aguiar Social Justice Advocate Award History: List of Past Award Recipients
The following is a list of Social Justice Advocate Award recipients since the program began in 1989. 
​
Year Recipient & Social Justice Cause
1989 Mary Goodreau – St. Andrews Soup Kitchen
1990 Lou Santero – Right to Life
1991 Gus Nystrom – Pax Christi & Prison Ministry
1992 Jim Campbell – AIDS Ministry
1993 Pat Belding – Parish Awareness & Youth Involvement
1994 Darlene Upmeier – Youth Social Justice
1996 Pat Baretta – Social Concerns
1997 Carol Ghilardi – AIDS/HIV Services
1998 The Carlsen’s – The Giving Tree
1999 Judie Johnson – St. Vincent De Paul
2000 Deborah Cilk – Community Services
2001 Betty Johnson – Birthright
2002 Brian O’Reilly – Shelters & Food for the Poor
2003 Rich Malone – Prison Release Ministry
2004 Tom Morelli – Special Olympics
2005 No Advocate Award given
2006 Estaban Marino De Paz
2007 Charles Haupt
2008 - 2009 No Advocate Award given
2010 Dr. John Rabada - Volunteer medical care at St. Mary's Interfaith Community Services in Stockton
2011 Wesley Stark and Bob McKenzie - Livermore Homeless Refuge founders
2012 No award given
2013 Becky Dennis - Affordable housing in the Tri-Valley
2014 Lori & Jim Murphy - Founders of People-to-People Foundation, supporting an orphanage in India & more
2015 - 2020 The program was paused. No Advocate Awards given
2021 Donna McKenzie - Livermore Homeless Refuge
2022 Mike Kozuch - Circulo de Amigas Foundation – Girls’ education in Nicaragua