Northlight recently conducted a search for residents of Chicago and the North Shore who, like the character of Jervis Pendleton, possess a spirit of generosity and a dedication to bettering the lives of others, to be the recipient of the Daddy Long Legs Award!  We are proud to announce the winner, Mr. Thomas Korman, nominated by Howard Feinstein.

Upon winning, Tom remarked:

“Thank you for this honor.  Just think if we all could help someone, whether financially, as in Daddy Long Legs, or by volunteering our time – our community and country would all benefit. The true reward is in giving.”

Continue on to read the winning nomination for this local humanitarian.

Dear Daddy Long Legs:

My nomination for Daddy Long Legs is Tom Korman.  Tom has a daytime job as a Partner in a major law firm but at night and all weekend he is Daddy Long Legs.  He also has a loving wife and 2 loving children.

For 30 years, I have known Tom and his wife Marsha, who in her own right is a Mother Long Legs.  Our paths have crossed numerous times.  In our youth, I worked alongside of Tom at the IRS and our paths crossed again as we both taught a CPA Review course, to prepare students for taking the CPA Exam.

I also serve on a board, Jewish Child and Family Services, a non-for-profit organization with a $30,000,000 annual budget of which Tom served as its President for a time.

But I am not nominating Tom for the good work he provided above, which is plenty.  Instead, I introduce you to Tom through the above, so that you can see that I have seen Tom perform his many good deeds, up close and personal.

Tom currently volunteers his time as a Study Buddy, a program where volunteers help kids with their homework.  This is a program run through a non-for-profit organization, Youth Services, of which his wife is currently on the Board.  Though deserving of a nomination by itself, that is not why I think Tom should be Daddy Long Legs.

Tom also volunteers his time through a park district whose volunteers perform free singing concerts in senior homes, libraries and schools.  Again, this is a worthwhile endeavor, but again, this is not why I am nominating Tom as Daddy Long Legs.

The reason that I am nominating Tom as Daddy Long Legs is that over the years Tom has welcomed into his home, over 50 troubled youths, who came from troubled families.  These youths lived in his household 24/7 for various periods of time, the longest being 1 ½ years.  He has had as many as 3 youths living under his roof at one time, each getting their own bedroom.  These teenagers living with Tom have been of many races:  black, white, Hispanic and Asian, they have also been of diverse religions.

There are many deserving people like Tom that volunteer their time for worthwhile charitable causes.  There are also many deserving people that, like Tom, who are major donors to non-for-profit organizations.

I believe what makes Tom more unique, more special and more deserving of the Daddy Long Legs Title is that not only does he open up his calendar, and his wallet but he opens up his home 24/7.  He also offers his beloved family 24/7 to help adolescents and teenagers with no place to call home.  These teens came to him through the Haven of Wilmette, a non-for-profit organization.

The Haven offers 24 hour a day crisis intervention, an outreach program and emergency housing that is combined with counseling.  Tom has opened up his home, his family and his heart for teens experiencing these difficulties. Tom is devoted to the mental health, character development and physical well-being of children in his community.  He knows that a child who experiences social rejection is more likely to suffer academic failure, drop out of school and experiment with drugs.

Like the musical now playing at Northlight, each teen had their own story.  Here are just a few.  I did not want to turn this nomination into a book.

In one situation the mother died and the father went back to Poland, leaving his daughter here so she could graduate from high school.  Tom touched her so much that when she later gave birth to a baby boy, she named him after Tom.

Another teen that stayed with Tom had a mother that had lost custody of her child and a father who had a girlfriend not much older than the child.  The girlfriend and the child could not get along and the father’s greater interest at the time was the girlfriend.

Some children came by way of parents who no longer felt that they can deal with their problem child under their roof.

Another example of a teen who was helped by Tom was a boy who never knew he had a father, and then his father was found.

When these teens were welcomed into Tom’s home, they had been uprooted from parents and siblings.  In many of these cases, the integration and bonding that took place between Tom’s own children and these teens was remarkable.

Before living in Tom’s home, many of these teens had never experienced a loving household.  Some got to go on family vacations, and some were included in various family activities that they had never before experienced.  Tom said his goal was to help put welfare agencies out of business.

Some of these teens thought of Tom’s home as a hotel for teens, with concierge services.

In my opinion, Tom is not only worthy to be Daddy Long Legs, he is also worthy to be Daddy Long Arms because he wraps them widely around those in need.  He is also worthy of being Daddy Long Heart as he has genuine heartfelt feelings for the many that he has touched.

-Howard Feinstein