GCEF presents 2024 Paul Daum Award to Tom & Dona Cardone

Each year, the Gay Community Endowment Fund recognizes an individual, business or organization that has actively supported the LGBTQ+ community with its Paul Daum Award.

The award, which is named for a founding donor of the fund and a professor of theater at the University of Akron, honors those who have demonstrated a significant commitment to LGBTQ+ causes and whose involvement has benefited the Greater Akron community at large.

In 2024, the Gay Community Endowment Fund presented the award to longtime volunteers Tom and Dona Cardone. Several GCEF Advisory Board members nominated Tom and Dona for the award, including Gregory Hail.

He wrote, "Having known Tom and Dona for many years, it goes without saying that they are two of the most genuinely kind and caring people that you will ever meet. Tom has served on the board of GCEF, and both Tom and Dona served on the Sugar Plum Tour Committee for many years. Whether they were assisting in planning the tour each year, delivering last-minute items to homeowners and sponsors, or helping to finish decorating the night before the tour, they gave of not only their time, but their enthusiasm for the tour and the fund.

"Outside of the Gay Community Endowment Fund, Tom and Dona have created and maintained deep friendships with people they have met through the fund, including myself. Their love and loyalty to those around them make Tom and Dona feel like a member of your own family. Their devotion to and love of their own children and grandchildren is a model for others to emulate. The commitment and engagement they demonstrate for the local Italian and Greek communities deserves enormous respect, reflecting their commitment to their heritage.

"I nominated Tom and Dona Cardone for all the reasons listed above, as well as my absolute adoration and love for them. It gives me great joy that they were honored with the 2024 Paul Daum Award."

The 2025 Paul Daum Award will be presented at the Gay Community Endowment Fund's annual celebration, exhALE, on Friday, June 6, 2025.

Created in 2016, the Paul Daum Award was first presented to Eric Jones of Jones Group Interiors, a cornerstone member of GCEF. The award pays tribute to Paul Daum's generous estate gift to the Gay Community Endowment Fund, which left a legacy that will forever meet the needs of Greater Akron's LGBTQ+ community. Learn how you can do the same.