Quathamer to be named Citizen of the Year

Noted on February 11, 2009 by Natanya in

Quathamer to be named Citizen of the Year By Liz Powell

After raising five children of her own, Donna Quathamer has added a few hundred more over the last eight years. On Tuesday, February 10, the founder of the two Casa de los Angeles Day Care Centers will become the second recipient of the Citizen of the Year Award from the Rotary Club of San Miguel–Midday.

The award is now annually presented to the “San Miguel resident who best exemplifies the ideals of service to the community.” Last year’s recipients, Saul and Linda Whynman, as well as dozens of other guests and Rotarians are expected to be present at the ceremony at the Hotel Real de Minas. The festivities begin at 12:30pm with the business portion of the Rotary meeting. The Club will also be inducting a new member on that day. The public is invited.

Here’s how Donna describes her road to San Miguel and the evolution of the Casa de los Angeles Day Care facility:

"When I worked at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois, I was campus minister, responsible for outreach, serving the needs of people in Chicago, Appalachia, Arkansas and Querétaro, Mexico, with groups of university students. Each time I traveled to Mexico, I felt compelled to consider what I could do to help the people of this beautiful and compelling country. How could it be that this country, which shares a border with the United States, could have so many people in need, so invisible to that rich country to the north? Thus began the search for the place and the service to be provided. During 1998 and 1999, I traveled to Central Mexico and decided on San Miguel de Allende but still was not sure of just what the work would be. The question I posed to more than 100 women in the area was, What would be a helpful program to offer your family? The answer was “day care” every time. The work of Casa de los Angeles was decided by the women of the community."

Always a caretaker, Donna began her career with a bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University and later earned a master’s degree in Theology from Loyola University in Chicago. She worked as a special educator for 10 years before becoming a director of religious education in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, where she spent another 10 years. She completed her US work experience by spending another decade at Lewis University in Romeoville, where she worked as campus minister and theology professor. It was there that she developed so many of her church contacts that continue to provide much of the financial resources necessary to build two modern day care facilities in San Miguel.

“Donna is an amazing woman who would continue to inspire the less fortunate, no matter where she found herself. We are so lucky that 10 years ago she made the choice to come here,” said David Bossman, president of the Midday Rotary Club.