President Bush Honors Marquette Employee

From cooking meals and collecting pull-tabs to knitting blankets
and packaging soaps and shampoos; there's not much this
local woman doesn't do to help others.

Released: September 2, 2004

MILWAUKEE – Kathleen Hawkins, a budget coordinator at Marquette University, is being honored by the White House for her extraordinary amount of service to the community. President Bush will present the President's Volunteer Service Award to Hawkins on a campaign stop in Milwaukee this Friday September 3, 2004 . The award is presented through the USA Freedom Corps, a national service program developed under the Bush administration to encourage Americans to give 2,000 hours of service to their communities over the span of their lifetime. Dedicated to serving others, Kathleen and her husband Robert lap that milestone every couple of years.

“This award, even the nomination, comes as a total shock,” said Hawkins.  “I volunteer because I feel privileged to be an American. My husband is a proud U.S. Coast Guard Veteran, and this is how I can serve my country.”

Service work plays a major role in the Marquette experience. Our students, staff and faculty contribute over 100,000 hours of service every year. Not one for the spotlight, Hawkins had to be convinced to be recognized for all the good work she does. “I'm a behind the scenes person,” she said, “but if I can inspire even one other person to volunteer by receiving this award, then all the nervousness I am feeling right now is worth it.” 

The Hawkins family has a deep appreciation for the sacrifices made by veterans of the United States Armed Forces. Kathleen is the state AMVETS Auxiliary Chairman, and her husband is the Deputy Representative for AMVETS.  Hawkins and her husband travel 350 miles to the Wisconsin Veterans Home in King, WI at least once a month for meetings with different veterans groups. They also organize events and holiday parties for the residents of the home. Hawkins helps organize Stand Down for Homeless Veterans, an event that helps homeless veterans receive health care and social service, twice a year.  She puts together personal hygiene kits and gives clothing to the veterans in need.

During Love America Week (Veterans Day) she recognizes every veteran she knows, especially the Marquette ROTC, with a gift and a card. 

Hawkins knows the true meaning of Christmas. She coordinates the Holiday Giving Tree at Marquette , gathering and giving gifts to more than 400 area needy children.  In addition, she sets up hat, scarf, mitten, shoe and sock trees at the Alumni Memorial Union and Johnston Hall. She and her husband coordinate a holiday party at the Cifaldi Sauare Senior Center in Cudahy , and deliver presents dressed up as Santa and Mrs. Claus to kids at the Penfield Children's Center.

Helping children is another priority for Hawkins. She cooks and serves an annual dinner at the Ronald McDonald House for families of children being treated at Children's Hospital, and collects supplies for area school districts.
 
As a ten year cancer survivor, Hawkins credits her battle with the disease for her drive to help others, especially those fighting cancer. She and her husband worked hard to support the effort to establish a local chapter of Gilda's Club, a safe place for cancer patients and their loved ones to come together to share their feelings about the effect the disease is having on their lives. Hawkins helped raise funds for Gilda's Club of Southeastern Wisconsin at rummage sales and craft fairs, and is now proud to see it stand on Oakland Avenue in Shorewood.

Never one to miss an easy opportunity to give back, she collects pull-tabs as part of a fundraiser for a local hospital's kidney dialysis unit. She also donates goods to the Victory Junction Gang Camp in North Carolina and The St. Francis Hospice and Cancer Care Center
 
Kathleen and Robert were both awarded the Jefferson Award for Community Service in 1993, and Kathleen has also been recognized as AMVETS Auxiliary Department of Wisconsin's Member of the Year in 1998. She was inducted into the Chapel of the Four Chaplains Legion of Honor in 2000, and was given the Stand Down Appreciation Award in 2003.

To schedule an interview with Kathleen Hawkins, please contact Anne Broeker in the Office of Public Affairs at the number listed above. For more information on the USA Freedom Corps, you may go to their website, www.usafreedomcorps.gov.