Condo tells them about her upbringing on the streets to illustrate that the residents — regardless of their backgrounds — “can be somebody no matter what.”
For her efforts counseling and caring for the troubled youth in Butler County, Condo received one of the two Steel Magnolia Awards presented Tuesday at the Manchester Inn.
The second-year program, which honors women who have overcome obstacles to positively impact the community, is administered by the Middletown Community Foundation and funded by the AK Steel Foundation.
Condo — a victim of abuse and neglect as a child, including a period of homelessness in the Cincinnati area — used her own experience — she called them “indignities” — to create One Way Farm Children’s Home, a facility in Fairfield for abused and neglected children from surrounding communities.
During the past 32 years, she has assisted approximately 8,500 children. The operation that started with one employee has grown to 32 workers with an operating budget of $1.5 million.
Her nominator, Teresa Casey, wrote: “She is never too busy to stop, listen and comfort or advise a child in the role of a mother, teacher, mentor or friend,”
Elsa Croucher of Monroe, who, along with husband Jim, founded Citizens Against Domestic Violence (CADV) in 1996, received the other Magnolia award.
Croucher was chosen to represent the women of the communities surrounding the Middletown Works facility and Condo for those surrounding the company’s West Chester Twp. corporate headquarters.
Each recipient designated an eligible charity of her choice to receive a $1,000 donation in honor of her selection. Croucher chose CADV, and Condo chose One Way Farm.
The honorees were presented their awards by James L. Wainscott, chairman, president and CEO of AK Steel, and Middletown Community Foundation Executive Director T. Duane Gordon.
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