| Gail Elberg Gail Elbeg was a AL!VE board member, fellow professional and friend. AL!VE made a small contribution in honor of Gail to the All Stars Project. Gail was such a dedicated advocate for volunteerism and the profession of volunteer management, as evidenced in her participation as a founding board member of AL!VE and an active Advocacy committee member. She truly was one who caught the vision of AL!VE and what it can become. The All Stars Project is deeply saddened by the passing of one of our foremost groundbreakers, Gail Elberg. Gail devoted her life to organizing in poor communities to bring about positive social change. Born in Brooklyn in 1948, she became a VISTA volunteer on the Fallon Indian Reservation in Nevada. In the 1970s, in the midst of New York City's devastating fiscal crisis, she was a pioneer organizer of the New York City Unemployed and Welfare Council. This 10,000-member union of the poor was the first to seek collective bargaining rights for welfare recipients. Later, she would focus her extraordinary organizing talents on creating an award-winning volunteer program for the All Stars Project. She involved thousands of people from all walks of life, rich and poor and everyone in between; providing them with creative opportunities to give back to the city's most disempowered and disadvantaged communities. Gail was a powerful public advocate for volunteerism, serving on the boards of the NY Association for Volunteer Administration and the Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement (AL!VE). Under her direction, the All Stars volunteer program won the National Points of Light Award and was designated by Mutual of New York as the "best volunteer site for working people." A tireless champion of the underdog, Gail battled a brain tumor for two and a half years, showing the same boundless energy and optimism with which she lived her life. Her incredible community organizing skills, her keen intelligence and her offbeat sense of humor made her admired and loved by everyone she touched. She will be so deeply missed. Gabrielle L. Kurlander President and CEO All Stars Project, Inc. Published: 02/18/12 |