Community Corner

VIDEO: Global Volunteers Honored at Kraft Foods

Five Kraft employees win $10,000 apiece for the overseas or local nonprofit where they help out.

Northfield’s Foundation honored five employees for their volunteer work around the world with the first “Delicious Difference Award” this week.

Each of the five winners received $10,000 in donations to go to their volunteer organizations and were honored by Kraft Foods Chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld on Monday.

Earlier:

Find out what's happening in Winnetka-Glencoewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The grants will fund a bakery in Mexico, projector equipment in Venezuela, counseling support in the United Kingdom, pet health care in the U.S. and children’s education in Kenya.

“It grows your soul, when you get recognized when you don’t expect it,” said Marion Gathoga, who won a grant for Palmhouse Foundation in Kenya.

Find out what's happening in Winnetka-Glencoewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The five Kraft winners were chosen from an applicant pool of more than 100 employees who also did volunteer outside work.

  • Carlos Fonseca is a corporate affairs analyst for Kraft. He spends every Saturday volunteering at his nonprofit, Impulso Creativo, which mentors teenagers in Caracas, Venezuela.
  • Marion Gathoga is a Kraft country director for Kenya and East Africa. She is a founding trustee for Palmhouse Foundation, which helps Kenyan children get a secondary education.
  • Lizzie Lee is a Kraft scientist who has been volunteering for eight years in the United Kingdom. She spends time with teenagers in Reading at No. 5 Youth Counseling and Information Service.
  • Maria de Jesus Rocha is a safety and ecology coordinator for Kraft in Mexico. She devotes her extra time to an orphanage, Casa Hogar, where she also adopted three children through the agency.
  • Michelle Voss of Glenview is a national forecasting manager for Kraft grocery manufacturing in the U.S. Voss applies her management skills to crunch numbers and budgets for Heartland Animal Shelter in Northbrook*.

Julia Gin, senior manager of corporate community involvement, said two external judges chose the five winners based on the effects they made within their communities, such as length of service and time commitment.

“I’m personally inspired by these individuals and so proud of the invaluable impact they each make in their communities each year,” said Nicole Robinson, vice president of Kraft Foods Foundation.

Check out the video of the winners, attached to the Patch media gallery.

Like Winnetka-Glencoe Patch on Facebook!

*Sept. 15 2:24 p.m. Correction: Voss is from Glenview, while the Heartland Animal Shelter is in Northbrook.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here