LYNN — Two people from Lynn have a chance at winning a coveted prize for someone who best epitomizes the qualities of integrity, compassion, and commitment to community.
On Sunday, U.S. Rep Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) will name the recipient of the Peter J. Gomes Service Award at City Hall at 12:30 p.m.
One of the eight finalists is Jason McCuish, a teacher at Lynn Vocational Technical Institute. He’s well known to My Brother’s Table, which calls itself the largest soup kitchen on the North Shore, because along with students from SkillsUSA, the after-school program, they have raised nearly $10,000 for the nonprofit; they’ve invited veterans to a sit-down dinner at the school; and delivered more than 100 bags of goodies to police and fire departments as well as emergency rooms to commemorate their work on 9/11.
The second Lynn finalist is Sandra Suarez, operations manager at Compass Working Capital, a nonprofit financial services organization that provides incentive-based savings and financial coaching programs to the needy.
Fluent in English and Spanish, Suarez has for more than a decade been supporting programs and community outreach activities on the North Shore.
Gomes was a religion professor at Harvard Divinity School, and a preacher at Harvard Memorial Church.
Following the award ceremony, Moulton and more than 50 volunteers will serve a meal at My Brother’s Table, participate in a home renovation with Lynn Housing and Neighborhood Development, do a fall cleanup at the Girls Inc., garden with the Lynn Beautification Project, and cleanup Lynn Common.
