THE COUNCIL OF CHURCHES’

2010 LURLINE W. REID AWARD

Charles B. Rosenthal

The Lurline W. Reid Award was created to recognize individuals who demonstrate commitment and substantial personal involvement in giving individuals with criminal records a chance to get their lives in order and to succeed. 

Charles Rosenthal has changed the lives of ex-offenders. For nearly two years, he has prepared students at CO-OP Center for the General Educational Development or G.E.D. test.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and living in Hamden for the past 12 years, Charlie brings a solid education background to this work, for he has been either teaching or administering education as a principal, starting his career in the 1960’s.  His aptitude for teaching is clearly reflected in the GED class he runs at CO-OP Center.

Charlie’s work is funded from a grant secured by one of CO-OP Center’s reentry partners, Career Resources, Inc. The grant is unique in Connecticut. While each of the 21 correctional centers in the state has a GED program, the Department of Education—the source of these funds—does not fund any other programs that specifically target GED preparation for people AFTER they leave prison.

Charlie’s classroom is typically overflowing! Students come not only because they value the learning experience with their peers, but because of the positive environment Charlie creates, an environment which fosters a loyalty to him.  Students regularly arrive an hour earlier than the 9:30 a.m. starting time—which means they arrive before The Council’s official 8:45 a.m. opening time—so that they can get on a computer station.   Students who aren’t on a computer are given written assignments by Charlie and most often have to complete them in a space apart from the computer lab: not optimal for student or teacher, and yet they keep coming.

Charlie meets with each student before they begin classes to assess their learning level and also to tell them the “Two Commandments”, thou shalt respect each other and thou shalt come intending to learn.  While some have left voluntarily or because they could not abide by those rules, most come consistently and act according to those two rules.  He has called students who have not returned to class to talk out their reasons for not continuing. Charlie also nurtured one of the students, who resided in a halfway house, into becoming a mentor/aide for other students and his help was well received.

Charlie has also gone above the role of instructor to create a family atmosphere. He has spent his own money to purchase food for summer cook-outs and for other social events and worked diligently to arrange for some of his students to attend a production of Death of a Salesman in New York City in August 2009. These “extra-curricular” events forge a bond with the students that say, much louder than words ever could, that this is a person who takes an interest in them. This is a person who cares. He has spoken with students about personal/family issues and is sensitive to the stresses that they bring with them to the classroom.

And, the program is producing positive results. The preparation program reports to its Department of Education evaluators an average 90% increase over initial test scores in English and an 82% increase in math scores.

This past February, Charlie administered a “Key Train” test to six of his students. Key Train is a nationally recognized aptitude test for work readiness skills and offers a certification to the employer that those who pass are “job ready.”  Every student passed the test that day! The elation of one of them was infectious; he considered it to be one of the best days of his life. Certainly, this is what creating second chances is all about.

Charlie’s love of teaching is reflected in the loyalty of his students. He has taken a less than optimal learning environment and produced laudable results through a demonstrated personal, “hands-on” approach to assisting CO-OP Center’s and other reentry agencies’ clients.

THE COUNCIL OF CHURCHES’

2010 COMMUNITY BUILDER AWARD

Rosa J. Correa

The Community Builder Award was established to recognize a special man or woman who has served our community with distinction through their experience with The Council of Churches.

Ms. Rosa J. Correa has lived in Bridgeport since 1957.   As an active member of the Catholic community she worked as Executive Coordinator of the Hispanic Ministry for the diocese of Bridgeport for many years and created the Hispanic Leadership Training Institute. With a background in banking, Ms. Correa has worked at various levels of city government and served as the appointed Director of Connecticut Governor’s Southwestern Regional Office.  Ms. Correa was the Executive Director of Micro Credit Businesses, Inc., a micro enterprise organization that provided access to credit and other resources to small and emerging businesses.

She joined Family Reentry, Inc. in June 2006 and serves as Manager of External Relations & Business Development with a particular emphasis on helping to build agency collaborative efforts to develop and maintain relationships with employers, public agencies and other community organizations in order to transition ex-offenders into the workforce. 

Ms. Correa’s has served on various local, state and national organizations and is currently engaged in a number of diverse community service activities. Recently she was appointed by House Minority Leader John Boehner to the National Museum of the American Latino Commission.  She is a member and serves on the Board of Directors of the Bridgeport Rotary Club, where she chairs the Membership Committee, the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport, Central Connecticut Coastal YMCA, Community Board of Trustees of the United Way of Coastal Fairfield County, the Civil Service Commission of the City of Bridgeport and St. Vincent’s Swim Across the Sound – Breast Cancer Committee.  She also, chaired the Board of Directors of the Bridgeport Housing Authority, served as appointed commissioner for the Greater Bridgeport Regional Planning Agency as well as served on the Board of Directors American Red Cross of Eastern Fairfield County, Catholic Charities and FSW – a family service agency. 

Ms. Correa is one of the founding members of the Greater Bridgeport United (GBU) Relief Committee, an organization of Hispanics that aids the American Red Cross in times of tragedy and disaster.  In 1996, she co-founded the Bridgeport Barnum Festival La Danza, an annual event that celebrates the history, culture, traditions and unique contributions of the diverse Latin American countries.  In October 2000, she launched La Danza Scholarship Fund that support student participation and study in the performing arts. She is also a member of the Bridgeport Hispanic Heritage Committee and chairs the annual Tribute to the Americas ceremony at the City Council.

Ms. Correa has received numerous awards.  Among them: 2009 Bridgeport Rotary – Rotarian of the Year; 2009 Bridgeport Police Department Guardians – Community Achievement Award; 2008 Hispanic Heritage Month Progreso Latino Profile Exhibit; 2007 Bridgeport Police Hispanic Society Community Service Award; 2007 Medal of Merit by the Government of Colombia; 2007 The Bigelow Humanitarian Award; 2000 Woman of Distinction Award from the Girl Scouts of Housatonic Council; 1999 Women of the Year selected by the Connecticut Post; 1998 Latina Citizen of the Year from the State of Connecticut Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission;1995 Distinguished Leadership Award from the National Association for Community Leadership; United Nation’s Decade for Women Outstanding Connecticut Women; American Muslim Mission Salute to Afro-American Women; YWCA Salute to Women and Pope John Paul II, Papal Medal Pro Ecclesia Pontifice.

 Ms. Correa holds a B.A. Degree from Sacred Heart University and is a graduate of the inaugural 1990 Class of Leadership Greater Bridgeport.  She is married to Eddie F. Correa, and has three children and four grandchildren.

THE COUNCIL OF CHURCHES’

2010 FOUNDERS AWARD

The Rev. Hopeton A. Scott

The Founders Award recognizes the service of specific individuals whose service generally spans decades and who embody the spirit and service of The Council’s founders in 1945. 

The Rev. Hopeton A. Scott assumed pastoral leadership at the First Baptist Church of Bridgeport in 1995, and was almost immediately recruited to serve on The Council of Churches’ Board of Directors.  Despite his many other leadership commitments in the community, Hopeton’s unwavering dedication to The Council’s ministry spans well over 13 years ~ serving as Chairman of the Board for two years. 

Hopeton spent the first 17 years of his life in Kingston, Jamaica, where he attended Jones Town Primary School and Wolmer's High School.  He migrated to the U.S.A. to join his parents in 1965. He was graduated from Hartford Public High School in 1966. Following studies at Central Connecticut State University in Political Science and History, he returned to Jamaica to prepare for the Christian ministry at United Theological College of the West Indies. He graduated cum laude in 1976 from the University of the West Indies with a degree in theology. He has done other postgraduate work in counseling at the Education Institute of Jamaica and at St. Joseph College in West Hartford, and community organizing at the University of Connecticut Labor Institute.

He was ordained to the Christian Ministry in September 1976, and has had appointments in Jamaica and stateside. Prior to coming to First Baptist in Bridgeport, he served as pastor, educator, and administrator at Central Baptist Church and as Associate Minister at Union Baptist Church, both in Hartford. As part of his fieldwork for his ministerial degree, he worked for two years as the Director of a government-sponsored Literary Program with over 100 students. Between his studies, as well as between church positions, Hopeton worked as a High School teacher and Guidance Counselor in Jamaica and as a Rehabilitation Counselor at the Institute of Living in Hartford, CT. He was a staff person with a health-care labor union, District 1199 in the 1980’s.

An activist and trailblazer, Pastor Scott has been chosen to a number of leadership positions in the religious field and in the community. He has served the American Baptist Churches of Connecticut, as president, and in several other leadership capacities. He was the longtime Chair of the Commission on the Ministry for American Baptists. He is currently on the Executive Committee of the General Board of American Baptist Churches in the USA, serving as chair of its Committee on Christian Unity. In the ecumenical arena, he has been chair of the Board of Directors of The Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport, President of Center City Churches of Hartford, president of the Bridgeport Clergy Association and president of the Greater Bridgeport Interfaith Action.

He has held key positions in the Greater Hartford Neighborhood Housing Coalition, Haymarket's People Fund, the Salvation Army and several non­profit housing corporations. He has been on the Board of Directors of the Ct. Concert Opera Company and of the Bridgeport Boys Choir and on the CT. Program Committee of the American Friends (Quakers) Society and the Ethics Committee of Thirty-Thirty Health Care Systems.

He married Clover May Hughie in December 1977 and is the proud father of Erica-Hope Scott, formerly on the staff of St. Joseph College, West Hartford. He has also foster-parented several other children.