Communitas is a Latin word for people helping people for the benefit of their community.
The Communitas Award program is an international effort to recognize exceptional businesses, organizations and individuals that are unselfishly giving of themselves and their resources. Jerry
and Kathy Weiner and their Tolerance Week efforts clearly exhibit the spirit of communitas. We are pleased to announce that Jerry and Kathy Weiner were presented with an International Communitas Award for Tolerance Week Wednesday by Governor Terry Branstad at the Sioux City Orpheum Theatre.
Wednesday also marked the first Tolerance Week Courage Awards. The Tolerance Week Courage to Teach Award went to Linda McQueen, who has brought her students to the
Tolerance Week movie event every year, traveling for an hour and forty five minutes each way from Dunlap, Iowa.
Fiona Valentine with the Lifelong Learning Institute at Western Iowa Tech was awarded the Tolerance Week Courage to Partner award, for being the ultimate Tolerance Week partner, coming through each year, sometimes on very short notice.
The first Tolerance Week Courage to Enlighten Award was presented to Mr. Philip Gans for continuing to travel to Siouxland every year to speak to thousands of area students about his Auschwitz camp experiences.
Christine McAvoy was awarded the first Tolerance Week Courage to Advocate Award for helping to find emergency housing for an African family of ten.
