Patrick Miles with Carl Howell, director of Christopher Place Employment Academy.
On October 26 at the annual Association of Fundraising Professionals meeting, Patrick Miles, a senior manager at T. Rowe Price was presented with the Unsung Hero award. Patrick has championed the recruitment of fellow male employees at T. Rowe Price to serve and dine monthly with the formerly homeless men of Christopher Place Employment Academy.
The T. Rowe Price dinners are truly beneficial to the men of Christopher Place who are in the process of rebuilding their lives after homelessness and often incarceration. To date, 12 employees at T.Rowe have volunteered with this project because of Patrick’s efforts.
Patrick recently described his experience by stating, “Our guys see that our service actually makes a difference to these men-we have an impact for sure. The men know we care about their progress. We always hope to connect over dinner, whether it is about what they did during the day, politics, or sharing a bit of their history. However, even if we don’t get to talk much- our mere presence speaks volumes to them- and that is what motivates me to go back and do even more.”
Currently, three men in the T. Rowe group, including Patrick, have deepened their commitment by becoming mentors, a six-month commitment to the Christopher Place men.
Under Patrick’s guidance, Kristen Dobe and Trina Bunch who also work at T. Rowe Price, are leading a team of women to serve dinner monthly at My Sister’s Place Women’s Center, a Catholic Charities program that serves homeless women and children.