George T. McDonald describes himself as “…a person of
faith. Faith in God, faith in my country and faith in the
resiliency of the human spirit.”
In the true spirit of St. Vincent de Paul, George put his faith
to work in a very real way. In 1985 he founded The Doe
Fund and established Ready, Willing & Able, an innovative and
truly inspirational program designed to offer the most marginalized
and burdened members of our society an opportunity to turn their
life around and re-cloak themselves in the mantle of human
dignity. Since those early days Ready, Willing & Able has
helped more than 3,300 individuals to throw off the shackles of
homelessness, incarceration and chemical dependency and
re-establish themselves as productive members of their
communities.
Spirit
of Service Award Video Presentation
An acknowledged expert on and staunch advocate for the homeless,
George has served on numerous committees and task forces created to
address this issue on a city and state level. He is currently
a member of the New York City Discharge Planning Collaboration.
George’s spirit of caring and compassion for others has earned
him numerous honors and awards, including the William E. Simon
Award for Lifetime Achievement in Social Entrepreneurship from The
Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, the 2008 Innovator of
Special Merit Award from the U.S. Interagency Council on
Homelessness and the Outstanding Community Partnership Award from
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
George is the father of four children. He credits his
wife, Harriet as being the single most important influence in his
life, both personally and professionally.