Show your favorite good-doing do-gooder some love

We all have at least one friend who just makes us feel bad about ourselves. They work a full-time job, coach a team of disadvantaged youngsters, host a pottery session at a senior citizen’s home and rebuild houses while on vacation in Haiti. This do-goodery usually makes us generally-lazy but well-meaning selves feel like crap. But now The Brooklyn Community Foundation is giving us a chance to give back without waking early for that shift at the soup kitchen, and to show our respect for those out there doing the dirty work themselves. To celebrate its upcoming first anniversary, the BCF is giving away $5000 to five different charities. The recipients will be chosen by the winners of the Brooklyn Do Gooder Awards, and choosing these super citizens… that’s all up to you.

How it works: You nominate a local do-gooder who deserves the recognition, 20 finalists are determined by public vote and five winners will be chosen by a pretty impressive panel of borough heroes: Sara Horwitz (founder, The Freelancers’ Union), Laura Walker (president, WNYC), Laurie Cumbo (founder, Ft. Greene’s MoCADA gallery), Richard Becker (CEO, Brooklyn Hospital), Lexy Funk (co-founder, Brooklyn Industries), and others.

Nominations close Sept. 30, so you have 35 days to get someone in for one of these categories: Arts for All, Caring Neighbors, Community Development, Education and Youth Achievement, and Green Communities. Winners will be celebrated on Nov. 3 at The Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Follow these steps to get your Mother Teresa on the ballot. And while you’re at it, tell us who deserves the do-gooder votes.