Spouse of L-433’s DeMonaco receives national honor

Robin DeMonaco mentors child through Boys To Men program

ROBIN DEMONACO, WIFE of 30-year member Charlie DeMonaco (L-433 — Tampa, Fla.), received the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) Outstanding Mentor Award April 7 in New Orleans. It was the fourth year the FYSB presented the award from the Administration for Children and Families, a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services, for its Mentoring Children of Prisoners program.

Robin DeMonaco, wife of L-433 member Charlie DeMonaco, shown here with mentee Katelyn Crowther, receives the national FYSB Outstanding Mentor Award in New Orleans, April 7.

DeMonaco, who lives in Unicoi, Tenn., has been mentoring nine-year-old Katelyn Crowther for over three years through “Children of Promise,” a local Boys to Men program for children with parents in jail or prison.

Since Katelyn was six, she and DeMonaco have been on picnics, baked brownies and made crafts, visited the library, and enjoyed plenty of fun activities provided through Boys To Men, such as free trips to Doe River Gorge Camp in Hampton, Tenn.

The DeMonacos, Katelyn, and Katelyn’s father, Joseph, flew to New Orleans to accept the award. It was the first time the Crowthers had ever flown or been on vacation. While in New Orleans, they took in the sites, including an airboat ride. FYSB funded the trip.

Charlie DeMonaco was glad to accompany his wife and the Crowthers to New Orleans. “I’m glad I got to go along and be a friend and advisor for Joseph, who is the sole caregiver for his daughter. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to raise a little girl by yourself. Thank God for a program like this that can break cycles and change lives. It’s changed all of our lives.”

National mentor award winner Robin DeMonaco enjoys an airboat ride with mentee, Katelyn Crowther. Also pictured are Katelyn’s father, Joseph (front), and Robin’s husband, Charlie, a member of Local 433.