04/20/2026
Pat gave me permission to post this.
But letās congratulate our very own Julie Carasone, one of your favorite callers, on winning the YWCAās Woman of Inspiration Award.
Here is the speech from the woman who nominated her:
It is truly an honor to stand here and introduce someone who has not only inspired me to be the best version of me, but the way I see what it means to show up for peopleā¦ Julie Carasone.
I met Julie about two and a half years ago when we were opening a Code Blue warming center through Oak Orchard Health in Monroe County. And from the very beginning, I knew she was different. Not just as a boss, but as a human being. Julie doesnāt just listen, she hears you. She doesnāt just advocate, she fights. And when something needs to get done, she doesnāt wait around, she moves, immediately and without hesitation.
What Julie does every single day is something most people will never fully see, but I have. Together, we help operate warming centers across four counties in Western New York. When the temperature drops to 32 degrees or below, from November through May, we open our doors so people who have nowhere else to go have a safe, warm place to exist with dignity.
But what that sounds like on paper and what it actually looks like in real life are two very different things.
Because Julie is the backbone of all of it.
I have watched her stand in the gap when the system failed people. When hospitals discharged someone with nowhere to go. When policies got in the way of humanity. When society labeled people as ātoo muchā or ānot worth it.ā Julie never accepted that. She shows up, with resources, with solutions, with compassion, and with a fearlessness that I can only describe as unmatched.
Iāve watched her go toe-to-toe with hospital administration, with county officials, with anyone and anything standing between a person and the care they deserve. It doesnāt matter if itās her day off, the middle of the night, or the hundredth crisis of tahe week, Julie shows up. No judgment. No hesitation. No questions asked.
Thatās who she is at her core.
She shows up.
And it doesnāt stop there.
Over the past two years, Iāve had the privilege of seeing all the ways Julie pours into not just this community, but so many others. Through her role as Program Manager for Care Coordination and Community Engagementā¦ as the Warming Center Manager at oak orchardā¦ as a volunteer with Restore Sexual Assault Servicesā¦ showing up to volunteer in schoolsā¦ building connections in places like Genesee County just by calling Bingoā¦ and yes, even working as a cook at Capish in LeRoy, because somehow, even with everything she carries, she still finds ways to give more.
Julie doesnāt just wear many hats, she becomes everything each role needs.
She is a leader. A fighter. A safe place. A voice for people who donāt have one. A steady hand in chaos.
But the role that leaves me in the most inspiredā¦ is who she is outside of all of that.
Julie is a mother. A grandmother. The heart of her family.
And somehow, while juggling all of this, she fought and beat cancer. At the same time, she was showing up for her granddaughter through heart surgeriesā¦ for her familyā¦ for her teamā¦ for her clientsā¦ for her community. And when I say she showed up every single day, I mean that. There was no pause. No step back. No āI canāt today.ā
She justā¦ kept going.
People always say we all have the same 24 hours in a dayābut I am convinced Julie has at least 27, and she uses every single one of them to make someone elseās life better.
Julie, you are, without a doubt, one of my favorite human beings on this planet.
You have changed my life. You have changed countless lives. And you do it quietly, consistently, and without ever asking for recognition.
But today, we get to give you just a little of that back.
Your strength, your compassion, your relentless dedicationā¦ it does not go unnoticed. And I am so incredibly proud to stand here and watch everyone else see what I have had the privilege of witnessing all along,
Just what an incredible inspiration you are not only to me, but every life youāve touched.
