Amanda Rymiszewski, Marketing Manager at O’Keefe, was honored with the Everyday Hero Award at the annual “Night of Heroes” event on July 22, 2015. The RARE Everyday Hero Program, a Winning Futures’ program, is dedicated to inspiring Michigan’s youth through Everyday Heroes. The prestigious award celebrates the lives of everyday people in the workplace who through extraordinary commitment, courage, compassion, and integrity are changing lives and inspiring others.

To be an Everyday Hero one has to be a proven leader, selfless and committed to enhancing the lives of others. These characteristics were recognized in Amanda Rymiszewski which is why she was nominated for the award.

Danny Thomas once said that “success has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s about what you do for others.” Rymiszewski lives by this philosophy.

As the Marketing Manager at O’Keefe, a financial consulting firm, Rymiszewski is known in the office for her charitable efforts. Outside of her normal job duties, Rymiszewski has made it her responsibility to empower her co-workers to participate in various service projects throughout the year. She coordinates several holiday giving programs for the staff and collects newspaper at the office throughout the year for the humane society.

Since college Rymiszewski has lent a significant amount of her time and energy to the Ronald McDonald House Charities, a program that provides housing and medical care for families with severely ill or injured children. In an effort to get her office involved, she began collecting pop can tabs in the staff kitchen so that the recycling proceeds could help offset some the charity’s expenses. She says that if we can help, why wouldn’t we?

However, Rymiszewski’s compassionate heart is not limited to the office. With a desire to give back to the community, she began volunteering as a mentor with Winning Futures in 2011. She also gives free financial coaching to members of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority at the University of Michigan and assists with the children’s choir at her church.

Whether she’s making blankets for Project Linus, fundraising for the children at St. Jude’s Hospital or serving meals at the Detroit Rescue Mission, Amanda can always be found helping someone in need. It is her compassionate heart and her commitment to empowering others to serve that makes Amanda Rymiszewski a RARE Everyday Hero.

Rymiszewski was honored alongside six other heroes and three RARE “Everyday Hero” Scholarship recipients from Michigan schools. The unique scholarship program engages youth through the process of discussion, discovery and writing about the Everyday Heroes in their communities. Over 350 scholarship applications were submitted; three recipients each received a $2,500 college scholarship.

To learn more about the program please visit www.rarefoundation.org

To nominate a RARE Everyday hero please visit http://www.winningfutures.org/rare-everyday-heroes/nominate-a-hero/

Winning Futures is an award winning nonprofit organization that makes a difference in the lives of young people by offering school-based mentoring programs and workshops for middle school and high school students in Southeast Michigan. Its programs focus on the life skills of character value identification, goal setting, career preparation, and strategic planning. Founded in 1994 by entrepreneur Sam Cupp, Winning Futures now partners with organizations throughout the country to implement our life skills workbooks and activities. For more information, visit www.winningfutures.org or call 586-294-8449.