The McKnight Foundation and the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits have announced the 2021 recipients of the Virginia McKnight Binger Unsung Heroes Awards.

The annual awards honor four change agents who exemplify the critical work of building strong communities and includes a cash award of $10,000 each. This year’s honorees, who all help their communities connect with one another, secure resources, and tell their truths, are Ruth Evangelista, Richard Howell, KingDemetrius Pendleton, and Rawhi Said. Evangelista is founder of La RED Latina de Educación Temprana (the Latino Early Child Care Provider Network) in Richfield, which provides support and education for caregivers, including best practices in nutrition, resources for meeting children’s unique needs, cultural and linguistic trainings, and guidance on adhering to state and federal laws. Howell, who helps formerly incarcerated individuals secure rental housing — a challenge he himself once experienced — created Health Realizations, an alternative addiction recovery program, and Surviving COVID-19, a program that raised more than $30,000 to deliver support to his unhoused neighbors, and helps youth transition from school to jobs.

Pendleton, a photographer, journalist, and a single father of five, uses his camera to bring about narrative change with a focus on racial justice; after his daughter was killed by an impaired driver, he also has worked to prevent drunk and distracted driving. And Said, whose family moved to Minnesota from Bosnia when he was two years old, has worked as a community health worker for the Intercultural Mutual Assistance Association, which provides assistance for refugees and immigrants, where he created a diversity, equity, and inclusion program; in 2020, with the help of First Alliance, one of IMAA’s partners, and some state funding, he launched the Whole Family Systems program, which provides free Internet access for families in Olmsted and Winona counties.

(Photo credit: Kait_P via pixabay)