Friday, April 10, 2009 11:06 PM CDT
Service, volunteerism earn Nordin Jefferson honor
By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer
rstroud@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — Hal Nordin gathers motel-size bars of soap and bottles of shampoo plus other small but essential items for people in need.
The small items that Nordin collects personally and from fellow members of the Charleston Rotary Club add up to make a big difference for those who receive them. For example, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, shaving cream and more go to Veterans Administration Hospital patients in Danville who would otherwise need to buy them.
Some of the other recipients include veterans at Palm Terrace of Mattoon, abused women and children served by HOPE of East Central Illinois, families in financial difficulty served by the Coalition for People in Need and Charleston Civic Association.
“It’s a constant ongoing project that I think does make a difference. It’s a simple thing but I am sure it makes life a little nicer for them,” said Charleston Rotarian Terry Davis. “Hal has pretty much handled the project from the beginning. He has been the one who has kept it going and he reminds people about it.”
His service with the Charleston Rotary Club, volunteerism as a carpenter and other work in the community led to Nordin being honored with a Jefferson Award. This is the local part of a national program that recognizes people who try to make life better in the places they live.
Nordin said he got involved in care package collection during the early part of this decade when the program was initiated by Davis, who was Rotary Club president at the time. Nordin said Davis came back from trips with extra hotel soap and shampoo, and suggested the Rotarians gather items like these for people in need.
“If you ask for soap and shampoo, most of the places will give you some extra. If they say no, it’s OK,” Nordin said. “I just think it fills a need. There are a lot more poor people in Coles County than the community realizes.”
During a trip several years ago to Florida, Nordin said he asked for extra toiletries and received two large bags full of blankets, sheets and pillow cases.
Nordin said he brought the donated bedding materials back to Charleston just as flooding there brought more people to the homeless shelter that was located on Ninth Street.
“It turned out to be exactly the things they needed. People would come in and they were really desperate,” Nordin said.
Some of Nordin’s other Rotary service has included picking up litter through Adopt A Highway, delivering food via Meals on Wheels, and flipping pancakes before Eastern Illinois University’s homecoming parade.
“Hal is always smiling. He is always cheerful, even at 5 o’clock in the morning when we are cooking pancakes for the EIU homecoming breakfast,” Davis said. “He is always willing to help people and jump in and do stuff.”
Nordin is a retired economics professor from Eastern Illinois University. His son, Brian Nordin, wrote in a Jefferson Award nomination letter that his dad began a program at EIU that during two decades took hundreds of students to visit financial and economic institutions in Chicago, where many later found work.
In addition, Nordin is an accomplished carpenter. Nordin, a Norridge native, said he paid for his tuition at Northern Illinois University by working summers as a carpenter.
“He helped many of our neighbors literally build their garages, additions, even a warehouse – all free of charge,” wrote Brian Nordin.
Nordin volunteered his carpentry skills with the local AMBUCS chapter for several years beginning in 1995. Nordin fondly recalled a fundraiser in which they sold and set up flagpoles for $50 each, and used the proceeds to build wheelchair ramps.
While humble about his own accomplishments as a volunteer, Nordin encouraged people to find ways to help in their communities.
“There is a great return in helping people. It always comes back to you,” Nordin said. “There is always a need. If you just look around you can see there are needs.
“There are so many volunteer organizations you can belong to that really do quite rewarding things for the community.”
Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 238-6861.
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