“I can’t tell you in a short time all of the endless hours she has donated in order to help people whether it’s fundraising, cooking food and teaching children,” Brendel said. “She is heroic in her acts because she does it behind the scenes.”
Paul was Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Woman of the Year in 2017 and raised $103,000 for the organization. She sits on its board. A retired biochemist, Paul said she is taking hope in strides being made to improve the survivability rate of blood cancers and leukemia in recent decades.
“If that much of a significant advance can happen within my lifetime, I have significant hope we can cure cancer,” she said.
“The impact (LLS) has made has been tremendous,” she said. “That’s the main thing that makes me want to do what I do.”
Paul also advocates for cultural activities locally with the India Club and World A’fair, and was able to bring world-famous Indian sarod player Amjad Ali Khan to perform at the Schuster Center.
She is also a painter, and raises funds for the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.
“I like to fundraise for the arts because we need musicians, and we need artists in the community,” she said. “Art is good for health and wellbeing.”
Brendel owns Olde Masters Galleria in Centerville and said: “If we did not have Hyacinth Paul, we would not have a ferocious gem who advocates with all her heart to pursue a greater good for our community.”
If you know a person in your community who has done something great in the community, go to DaytonDailyNews.com/CommunityGems and nominate them.
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