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Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2008 / Keeping the dream alive

by Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published January 18, 2008

Robert Delaney | The Michigan Catholic Frank Kubick, one of this year's Keep the Dream Alive honorees, delivers food to Mary Stabinski, 72, a member of Our Lady Queen of Apostles Parish in Hamtramck.

Detroit — The story behind Frank Kubik's nomination as one of the Keep the Dream Alive honorees for 2008 shows what can happen when a parishioner is invited to get involved.

Kubik "sat in the pew at St. Cunegunda his whole life until a few years ago, when one of our members approached him about helping out as an usher," says Judith Kadela.

That invitation led to him not only becoming an usher, but also a eucharistic minister, lector, volunteer catechist, and now parish council president at the westside Detroit parish, she says.

The 53-year-old Kubik has "a non-stop, 24-hour commitment to building and growing St. Cunegunda Parish," says Kandela, business manager for St. Cunegunda and its cluster partner, St. Barbara in Dearborn.

And besides all the things he does at his home parish, he also lectors and ushers at St. Barbara.

Kubik and 12 others will receive the Keep the Dream Alive award at the archdiocesan Martin Luther King Day Mass at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament on Monday, Jan. 21.

The annual awards recognize active Catholics who are leaders in keeping the dream of the Rev. King alive by building bridges between groups in their parish, community or workplace.

Kadela says Kubik "works tirelessly to involve people of all ages and ethnicities in the life of the parish."

"He brings dignity to everything he does, which is a lot, and because of this he has earned everyone's respect and admiration," she continues.

Kubik does not see a person's color or wealth or nationality, Kadela says: "He truly only sees Christ in everyone he meets, and he does what he can to make their lives better."

Kadela tells how, when — at the invitation of Fr. Zbigniew Grankowski, pastor of the parishes – Kubik told of the serious poverty he encounters in his work as director of Focus: HOPE's Commodity Supplemental Food Program, "everyone sat and listened — spellbound."

And he told the children how, after going to work for the organization 26 years ago, he came to believe "with his whole heart what (co-founder) Fr. William Cunningham was trying to do with the Focus: HOPE initiative," she continues.

Kadela adds that there are no "casual days" for Kubik: "Every day he goes to work in a suit and tie out of respect for the people he works for and with."

Kubik explains that he kept dressing up for work after Focus: HOPE went to "business casual" because it sends a message. "We don't want people to think that, just because they're low-income, we don't treat them with respect," he says.

The program Kubik manages serves about 41,000 people a month in Wayne, Oaklnd, Macomb and Washtenaw counties. Of those, about 35,000 are senior citizens, while the rest are mothers with children younger than 6 and pregnant mothers who are not on the Women, Infants and Children assistance program.

One way to express respect for those it serves is by providing a grocery store atmosphere at its four food depots in which clients can "shop" for what they will receive as part of their monthly allotment.

But not everybody can make it to one of the food depots, so some get deliveries at their homes. "The challenge is reaching isolated seniors who have no transportation," Kubik says, explaining that about a third of the seniors on the program fall into that category.

"We don't want anybody to go without food if we can provide it," he adds.

Kubik says Fr. Cunningham was the person who influenced him the most in his life: "He was very spiritual. He was doing God's work, and it was infectious."

And he praised Eleanor Josaitis, Focus: HOPE co-founder, for her ongoing work in keeping the organization true to its mission.

Of his parish work, Kubik says he has found his latest new activity — teaching fifth-grade religious education — especially rewarding: "What's remarkable about it is you can see the kids are really interested in God and in our faith – they're not just there because mom and dad said they had to go."

Kubik's work duties sometimes include being an advocate for the continuation of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and that can include testifying before a congressional committee. Otherwise, managerial duties mostly keep him in the office.

But even though Focus: HOPE has regular drivers for deliveries, Kubik still takes food to some recipients in emergencies or to some he has come to know. One of those in Detroiter Mary Stabinski, 72, a member of Our Lady Queen of Apostles Parish in Hamtramck.

"He's the best – they don't come any better," Stabinski says of Kubik.

Keep the Dream Alive Award Winners
This year's Keep the Dream Alive award winners will be honored at the annual Martin Luther King Day Mass at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament on Monday, Jan. 21 at 10 a.m. The honorees and their parishes are: • Edgar and Margaret Burger, St. Valentine Parish, Redford Township • Lilian Cichecki, St. Margaret of Scotland Parish, St. Clair Shores • Dr. Edgar Cruz, St. Clement of Rome Parish, Romeo • John and Barbara Fournier, SS. Cyril & Methodius Parish, Sterling Heights • Alton M. James III, Good Shepherd Parish, Detroit • Frank Kubick, St. Cunegunda Parish, Detroit, and St. Barbara Parish, Dearborn • Rosemary LaVoy, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Temperance • Bernice Lund, Holy Trinity Parish, Port Huron • Carrie E. Moore, Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament Parish, Detroit • Rina Platpir, St. Constance Parish, Taylor • Marguerite Rouleau, Sacred Heart of the Hills Parish, Auburn Hills		Ed Burger	Margaret Burger
		Cichecki	Cruz
		Barbara Fournier	John Fournier
		James	Kubik
		LaVoy	Lund
	Moore	Platpir	Rouleau