UTC/YMCA Youth Citizenship Award for Outstanding Volunteer

For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Will Kusek, 860-522-9622 x2336
West Hartford resident Nathaniel
Pinkes awarded UTC/YMCA Youth Citizenship
Award for outstanding volunteer service
Nathaniel Pinkes of West Hartford was awarded one of three United Technologies/
YMCA Wesley A. Kuhrt Youth Citizenship Awards for Community Service at the YMCA
of Greater Hartford’s recent annual meeting. The awards are made in memory of a
man known for his outstanding volunteer and professional leadership, the late
Wesley A. Kuhrt, who was president of Sikorsky Aircraft and a former United
Technologies Corporation Senior Vice President.
Pinkes is a sophomore at Watkinson School. He is a certified EMT serving both the
Suffield and Bloomfield Volunteer Ambulance Services. At the age of 12, he began
his volunteer journey by becoming Red Cross certified in first aid, CPR and the use of
an AED. At 13, he was volunteering at both the VA Hospital in Newington and, during
the summer, the Middlesex Hospital Shoreline Medical Center Emergency Room.
Inspired by what he saw in these facilities, he took and passed the 80-hour
Emergency Medical Responder course in Suffield and began his service to that group.
“I have learned that sometimes merely holding someone’s hand and speaking
reassuring words can make all the difference. I plan to become a CPR instructor so
that I can teach others how to save lives and help in an emergency,” said Pinkes.
The UTC/YMCA Youth Citizenship Awards are presented annually to young YMCA
program participants ages 15 to 20, who have strongly demonstrated an ongoing
commitment to volunteer service. Through their experience at the YMCA, applicants
and winners alike learn the YMCA core values of caring, honesty, respect and
responsibility, helping them to become positive role models and leaders in their
communities.
PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured at the YMCA of Greater Hartford Annual Meeting are
Jerry Gooden, Chairman of the Board of the YMCA of Greater Hartford, United
Technologies/YMCA Wesley A. Kuhrt Youth Citizenship Award winner Nathaniel
Pinkes, and Jay Kuhrt, son of Wesley A. Kuhrt.
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The YMCA of Greater Hartford is a non- profit 501 (c) (3) charitable organization established in 1852 and is
one of the nation’s oldest YMCA’s. The YMCA of Greater Hartford builds strong communities by helping
individuals reach their fullest potential through transformative programs that promote Youth
Development, Healthy Living and Social Responsibility. We help people reach their fullest potential by:
putting a caring adult in the presence of every child; being good stewards of the resources entrusted to
us; and working in partnership to eliminate the disparities in health and education. In 2013 the YMCA of
Greater Hartford served more than 120,000 people, including 66,000 children, in 52 towns and cities
throughout the Capital Region. YMCA programs put the values of caring, honesty, respect and
responsibility into practice to build healthy spirit, mind and body for all participants. Ghymca.org