Hingham resident Jeff Conway will receive HomeStart Inc.’s highest honor for his work in ending homelessness.
Conway, who will receive the Gold Key Award, is one of three people to be honored at this year’s fall gala – One Night, One Mission, Ending Homelessness — which will take place on Sept. 22.
As global head of State Street Corp.’s Investment Manager Services business and as a member of HomeStart’s Board of Directors, Conway has had a tremendous impact on the organization, HomeStart CEO Linda Wood-Boyle said.
“Jeff’s commitment to civic involvement and contributions to HomeStart’s efforts to end and prevent homelessness in greater Boston are both admirable and inspiring,” Wood-Boyle said. “He uses his leadership skills, energy and keen business sense to positively impact society through his community service.”
Conway has only been a part of the organization for four years, and only a Board member for two, but his guidance has helped bring HomeStart to the next level, Wood-Boyle said.
“Even before he came on the board, he made an impact. One holiday season four years ago, he wrote to all of the people he works with and said for the week between Christmas and New Years, if you make a contribution to HomeStart I will not send you one email or one voicemail. And it raised several thousand dollars, and we didn’t even know. All of sudden we just got checks in the mail!” Wood-Boyle said.
Additionally, as Chair of the Strategic Plan Process, Conway has secured professional consultants pro-bono to aid the organization.
“We’re very young organization, 18 years old, and Jeff has helped us step up to the next knotch,” Wood-Boyle said. “He’s bought a new level of commitment to fundraising, or challenging both me and the board to think a little bigger and a little broader. He’s just been a godsend.”
Ed Frechette, chair of the HomeStart’s Board of Trustees, called Conway’s work “tireless,” and agreed that the organization wouldn’t be where it is today without him.
“Jeff, along with our other honorees, have all inspired, taught and given back to the community in ways that have had a direct and positive impact on society overall and they are most deserving of these awards.”
With that commitment to the organization’s goal of ending and preventing homelessness by developing strategies and assisting individuals, the Gold Key Award represents the ways in which permanent housing can enrich a person’s life, organizers said.
In a release, Conway said he was honored to receive the award.
“Ending homelessness in greater Boston is not only priority of mine but also aligned with our core value at State Street of being a ‘global force and local citizen,’” Conway said.
“Through my work with HomeStart, I am able to support services to the city’s most vulnerable individuals and families,” he said. “These services have never been more vital given the economic environment and its disproportionate impact on our most disadvantaged citizens.”