Dorchester resident Keyna Samuel was honored by Social Capital Inc. (SCI) as a “Community Social Capitalist” for exemplary service to her community.  Ms. Samuel was joined by four other Community Social Capitalist winners at the Social Capitalist Luncheon, which drew over 200 business and community leaders to the Holiday Inn Beacon Hill.  Dain and Constance Perry of Charlestown were presented with the SCI Idealist Award at the event.    Keyna Samuel exemplifies the type of quiet community activist that is making a real difference in Dorchester, the community in which she lives and works. First, this single mother of three is active close to home in her children's parent-school associations.  As a long-time Dorchester resident, she is also treasurer of her local civic association.  This role builds on her staff position with the Codman Square NDC’s financial literacy initiatives.  Ms. Samuel is also a stand-out volunteer with the Boston EITC Coalition at the DotWell free tax sites. In addition to lending her strong financial skills and MPA credentials to the volunteer team and tax clients, she has leveraged her social capital to recruit other volunteers for the program.  "I told them it was a lot of fun and it was a lot of work as well. But volunteering really makes you feel good." She juggles all of this activism with parenting by “doing laundry between 9 p.m. and midnight." Others recognized as Community Social Capitalists were: 

• David Abromowitz, partner at Goulston & Storrs;
• Cathy Downs, Manager of the Boston Globe Foundation;
• Kevin Noyes, Community Reinvestment Officer, Danversbank;
• Jennifer Price, Principal of Newton North High School;

 “We were pleased to shine a spotlight on these very worthy individuals like Keyna Samuel who are making a difference in local communities,” commend SCI President David Crowley.  “Holding up such stellar examples of active citizenship is one way we encourage others to participate in their communities.” Ms. Samuel was nominated for the award by DotWell, which as a major event sponsor and serves as SCI’s lead partner in the Dorchester community.  DotWell is the partnership between Codman Square Health Center and Dorchester House Multi-Service Center.  The health centers founded DotWell in 1998 to provide state-of-the-art and enterprise wide mangement support for information Technology, including clinical applications and programs, research and evaluation, development, chronic disease prevention and public policy advocacy.  In recent years the health center partners have charged DotWell with cross-site coordination and management of non-clinical programs, including health education and outreach, Civic Health, Youth Services, Public Health, Wellness Services and most recently the Diabetes Initiative. SCI was founded in 2002, and opened its first expansion site in Dorchester in 2004.  SCI’s mission is to strengthen communities by uniting diverse individuals and groups through civic engagement initiatives.  Major funding for SCI Dorchester comes from the Boston Globe Foundation.  For more on SCI Dorchester and to connect with other Dorchester community resources, visit http://mydorchester.org.   

For a more freindly printing version see the press realease attached.