Three win Red Cross awards
Deirdre Newman
A tragic family experience inspired 16-year-old Hayden Hutchison to
help others.
After her father succumbed to skin cancer, Hayden began
volunteering to help out with cancer patients and the children of
cancer patients.
On Thursday, the Orange County Red Cross honored Hayden with a
Clara Barton Spectrum Award for Outstanding Women in the youth
category. An $1,000 scholarship accompanied the honor, provided by
Ford Motor Co.
“She’s a remarkable young girl with a lot of courage and somebody
who’s really doing a lot for other kids who have gone through the
same tragedy that she has,” said Robert Tarleton, manager of Western
Region Community Affairs for Ford.
Also honored was Merle Hatleberg of Costa Mesa, founder of Someone
Cares Soup Kitchen. Hatleberg, 80, started the soup kitchen in 1986
with a single pot of soup. Her organization has evolved to feed about
250 people a day.
Hatleberg received the Humanitarian Award for improving the
quality of life in the community. The warmhearted Hatleberg, who has
eight children and 15 grandchildren, fosters a family atmosphere at
the soup kitchen.
“The most rewarding part is seeing the smiling faces on these
people, especially when kids come in hungry and leave with a full
tummy,” Hatleberg said, adding that she also started a tutoring
program a few years ago for children at Pomona Elementary School.
Hatleberg tries to help others as much as she can, even when it
requires spending her own money. Just recently, she put up a family
of seven at a hotel. She bemoaned the dwindling of donations in the
past year.
“Money is not coming in,” Hatleberg said. “It’s been bad for a
while. I’m not rich by any means, but I try to do as much as I can.”
Costa Mesa resident Layla Abdul received the Personal Achievement
award, given to someone who has overcome “extraordinary obstacles in
improving the quality of her own life or that of others in the
community.” Abdul could not be reached for comment.
* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)
574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.
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