Ivonne Goldstein Community Volunteer Award is presented by Emprise Bank and named for the late Ivonne Goldstein, who served on the boards of, or raised money for, more than 50 Wichita organizations. This award is presented to an individual who through outstanding volunteer community service and commitment is making a measurable difference. Ruth Holliday, the 2020 recipient, is one of the founding members and highly engaged activist for local Rails to Trails endeavors, the Redbud Trail and the Prairie Sunset Trail.
Ruth Holiday receives the Ivonne Goldstein Community Volunteer Award.
Doug Lockett has been called a “professional volunteer” by those aware of the time he invests in providing a free meal once a week to more than 100 people, helping run a community radio station and doing repairs for free for seniors.
A man with a sense of faith, a big heart and an infectious laugh, Lockett is known to many in northeast Wichita simply as “Brother Doug.”
Lockett, 61, said he started volunteering at age 14 when his “mom didn’t want me sitting around for the summer” in his native Kansas City. So he started teaching a photography class at a local YWCA, sharing the technical skills he’d picked up from his dad, a professional photographer. He’d picked up his people skills by accompanying his mom as she volunteered with senior citizens and other community projects. “She was an activist,” recalled Lockett.
After high school, he became an air traffic controller in the Air Force and was a DJ on the side. After he was discharged, he started a career in restaurant management and now uses those skills to run The Underground Cafe, which offers a free hot meal once a week to anyone who stops by.
Operating out of the basement of a church at 1156 N. Oliver, The Underground Cafe serves more than 100 meals every Wednesday night. It has even served as many as 300, Lockett said. Lockett, who took over running the cafe about six years ago, spends about 25 hours a week doing the ordering, prep work, cooking and coordinating the volunteers.
“I serve a decent meal since I’ve got skills,” said Lockett, followed by a laugh. He’s whipped up chicken cordon bleu, meatloaf, fried chicken and more.
Originally founded to provide a meal to homeless vets, the cafe now serves anyone regardless of income or status. “It’s more of a fellowship,” said Lockett. Patrons have included international students attending nearby Wichita State and busy moms who just want a night off from cooking.
Lockett also uses those cooking skills to serve a monthly meal to seniors living at a retirement community in northeast Wichita.
A self-employed licensed contractor, Lockett also spends about eight to 10 hours a month doing small repairs for free for seniors.
With his background as a musician and DJ, Lockett also serves as the volunteer manager for KSUN 95.9, a community radio station that runs out of the basement of the Sunflower Community Action facility at 1751 N. Ash. He coordinates the on-air talent and is on the air himself on Sunday mornings as part of the station’s Sunday Buffet lineup, which offers music of different genres..
When asked what motivates him, Lockett replied, “Just waking up every day is motivation. If you can’t do something for someone else, then why are you here?”
The Ivonne Goldstein Award for Community Volunteer
To be awarded to an individual, who through outstanding volunteer community service and commitment, is making a measurable difference in our community.
Article by Joe Stumpe – Eagle correspondent
Photo by Bo Rader – Eagle photographer
February 20, 2018
It’s hard to imagine today, but Hailey Colborn struggled with self-esteem as a youngster. Yes, the reigning Miss Kansas Teen USA, former Northwest High class president and ballerina who danced the role of the Dew Drop Fairy in “The Nutcracker” last year.
A self-diagnosed overachiever, Colborn says she wanted to be as good a classical ballerina as possible. “I continually felt like a structure in need of improvement.” Colborn credits her family, an “incredible support system” and a nutritionist with helping her learn to take care of her mental, physical and emotional needs. The upshot was “a drastic improvement in my relationship with the world as a whole.”
Colborn, the Brian Bergkamp Student Service Award winner who will graduate from Northwest in May, started a program called SelfPosi three years ago to help girls with some of the same issues she faced. Originally part of a platform for a pageant she was competing in, she first tried SelfPosi out on fellow students at Northwest. Realizing the message was needed even more by younger girls, she has directed her efforts toward middle schools.
She books her appearances, recruits others to help with presentations and uses her passionate personality to make her audiences are participants in the process. “I’m surprised by how open the girls involved are willing to be,” Colborn said. “They share very personal anecdotes and really engage with the presentation.” She credits her mother – “someone with an already packed schedule” – with helping her stay organized. Hailey hopes more people will come to realize “that self-love is such an important issue that so many girls struggle with as they grow.”
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A program she organized last April at McAdams Recreational Center drew more than 50 girls ages 10 to 16, who took part in workshops on issues underlying self-esteem free of charge.
Hailey is the daughter of Kevin and Denise Colborn. When not maintaining a 4.0-grade point average or volunteering for extracurricular activities, she enjoys hanging out with friends and her two dogs. She’s also a “literature fanatic” – particularly when the writers are F. Scott Fitzgerald or Toni Morrison.
One of the proudest moments of her life to date was when she was admitted early to her top choice, Princeton University. Another was when she presented SelfPosi at her former middle school, Wilbur. “I will never forget a young girl that came up to me afterwards as I was leaving, looked me in the eyes and said, ‘Thank you. I really needed to hear that today.’ ”
The Ivonne Goldstein Award for Community Volunteer, named for the late Ivonne Goldstein who served on the boards of or raised money for more than 50 Wichita organizations, is presented to an individual who through outstanding volunteer community service and commitment is making a measurable difference. The award was presented by Star Lumber. The 2017 recipient was Tom Sanders, former CEO of the DAV/VA Medical Center, who is active with 11 Wichita non-profit organizations. Continue reading “Tom Sanders – 2017 Ivonne Goldstein Award”
