AUBURN — Pat Jackson, a supervisor and property manager for family development at Auburn Housing, was recently awarded the 2010 Community Service Award by Advocates for Children.

The award is given annually to a person in the community who has made a difference in the lives of local children, working on their behalf to prevent child maltreatment and neglect.

Nominated by Tom Poulin, an Advocates for Children board member and Auburn police officer, Jackson has spent 23 years at Auburn Housing. Over the years, the two of them worked quite often together. Poulin said that Jackson never hesitated to call him if she suspected endangerment, neglect or abuse involving one of her tenants.

In his nomination letter, Poulin relayed a story of two children who had been abandoned by their mother, living alone and trying not to let anyone know. After much persistence on Jaskson’s part, a safe place to live with relatives was found for the two children. Poulin said, “I give this example as only one in an endless list. Pat Jackson is more than deserving of this award, going above and beyond her responsibilities as a manager of an Auburn Housing complex.”