Mother’s Day was celebrated far and wide last weekend with showers of love and thankfulness directed at the most important women in many of our lives—mothers. Each year, The Malibu Times honors a very special mother whose loving kindness, grace and giving heart exemplifies the spirit of the person in which it as named: The Rosie York Mother of the Year Award in memory of the mother of The Malibu Times Publisher Arnold York.
Selecting just one mother to win has never been an easy task, but this year, for the first time ever, two moms have been chosen.
The two children of Maria D’Angelo, Francesca and Sean McCaffrey, nominated their mother for the Mother of the Year Award.
An emotional Francesca told The Malibu Times, “My brother and I are beyond honored to have her win the Rosie York Award. We know she’s been a mother to so many thousands of children.
“There’s no one more deserving we can think of,” Francesca continued. “My mom has been such an incredible inspiration for me my entire life. I’ve been honored to do the work with her we do at The Children’s Lifesaving Foundation and share her love with literally tens of thousands of children throughout the year.”
In 1993, D’Angelo founded The Children’s Lifesaving Foundation. More than 75,000 at-risk and homeless youth and their families have been touched through various programs, including Camp 4 All, the Vita Network and Adopt-a-Family Program. Maria has been a mother figure, in heart, spirit and action, to literally thousands of these at-risk youngsters.
“Her kindness, compassion and empathy are totally unsurpassed. She gives a true sense of hope to so many in-need Los Angeles kids,” a nomination letter described.
D’Angelo said being a mom means everything to her.
“The greatest gifts of my life have been my son and daughter and now my three grandchildren. They are my greatest joy and biggest accomplishment,” D’Angelo said. “CLF, too, has been such a joy in my life. I’ve had the great honor and happiness to have met the most extraordinary young people—beautiful, amazing kids who overcome such challenges in life. They’ve taught me so much. They give me a tremendous sense of hope and joy—to see how children come back and have succeeded in life in spite of all their challenges. I’m humbled and truly honored.”