Volunteers of America Presents Annual Community Service Awards
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact
Glenn Michaels, Volunteers of America Northern New England
Office: (207) 373-1140 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (207) 373-1140 end_of_the_skype_highlighting ext. 216
glenn.michaels@voanne.org
PORTLAND, ME (September 12, 2011) — Volunteers of America Northern New England presented its annual Community Service Awards last night at an event in Portland. Winners represent a wide variety of individuals and organizations from the area.
According to June Koegel, Present and CEO of Volunteers of America, “This is a very special event when we recognize and celebrate our countless friends and partners who make our mission of service possible. This service and generosity is the foundation of our organization and has been for more than 100 years. Maud and Ballington Booth chose to name their new organization Volunteers of America because they realized that engaging people from the community in their work would be critical to their success,” added Koegel. “They also understood that, by giving unselfishly to your community and to those truly in need, that you can achieve great things and experience a deep personal satisfaction.”
Koegel expressed the organization’s gratitude for all those who served during the past year. Through their service, many lives have been changed and success stories written. It is also important to understand that even a single hour or day of service makes a difference to someone in need. Mother Teresa constantly reinforced this message by saying… “If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”
Koegel shared, “Your service has also changed and motivated us. By sharing your talents, resources and passion, you make it possible for dreams to come true. That is why we have answered the call… and that is what we are celebrating today. Each year, choosing our award recipients gives us an opportunity to relive the accomplishments of so many and see their combined impact on the men, women and children that we are fortunate to serve.
Six Community Service Awards were presented. They were:
The Maud and Ballington Booth Lifetime Service Award: The founders of Volunteers of America, Maud and Ballington Booth, were social reformers who envisioned a movement dedicated to “reaching and uplifting” the American people. The Booths pledged to “go wherever we are needed, and do whatever comes to hand.” This award recognizes individuals who have exemplified this commitment to helping others time and again through a lifetime of service.
- Award recipients were Chris Buchanan and Rand Maker. Together, they were recognized for more that 25 years of combined service to fifth and sixth graders in Maine. As volunteer directors of Camp POSTCARD, Chris and Rand have made a difference in the lives of thousands of Maine youth. Camp POSTCARD is a 16-year partnership between Volunteers of America, the Maine Sheriffs’ Association, the Maine D.A.R.E.® Officers Association, and the Maine Chiefs of Police Association. It provides an innovative and successful substance-abuse and crime-prevention program for at-risk youth. Their ultimate goal is to improve the lives of children who don't have the basic opportunities and life skills that many of us take for granted. Rand and Chris are selfless in their volunteer support of camp and serve as role-models throughout their year-round commitment to these young people.
The William Inderstrodt Service in Action Award is named in honor of the late Reverend Bill Inderstrodt who was a retired minister and a Volunteers of America board member. He spent a lifetime advocating for affordable senior housing and, through his actions, helped make it a reality. This award honors individuals who have put their ideas into action through service to others – significantly changing their lives while maintaining their dignity and enhancing their engagement in the community.
- The winner of the 2011 Service in Action Award was Margo Wood. Similar to Bill Inderstrodt, Margo has spent a lifetime putting her passion into practice volunteering with Volunteers of America and many other organizations. She is not a talker…she is a doer…whose energy makes good things happen. Margo’s passion is literacy and she has worked hard as a volunteer for Volunteers of America’s Words Travel program in a partnership with Scholastic books. Words Travel has proven to strengthen the bonds between incarcerated parents and their children through sharing books that the parents record in their own voices. Margo helped adapt the program for both men and women at our re-entry centers in Belfast and Bangor. She is also active in many other ways in the organization which has had a positive impact on so many lives.
The President's Award: When it comes to serving those in need, Volunteers of America knows how to overcome challenges and meet those needs through the innovation and sheer will of our staff and volunteers. This award honors individuals and groups who are energized by challenge, inspired by change and find innovative ways to meet the needs of our clients and connect our agency to the community.
- The President’s Award for Volunteer of the Year Award for an Individual was presented to Charlie Kennedy, Vice President of Community Development at KeyBank. Charlie is being recognized for his work with the Creating Assets, Savings and Hope program [CA$H for short]. This is a group of professionals and mostly volunteers who run the Maine Volunteer Income Tax Assistance coalition. CA$H Maine is a collaboration of nine statewide coalitions, comprised of 50 non- and for-profit partners. Together they help low- and moderate-income Mainers receive the largest tax refund possible through free tax preparation and education.
Since 2004 Charlie has helped CA$H Maine by engaging the staff and resources of KeyBank in the project, finding innovative ways to help expand outreach of the program, and evolving the program to meet the unique needs area residents. Quite simply, Charlie and KeyBank help make things happen. A great example is when he and KeyBank worked with WCSH6 to create a statewide public service announcement campaign about the CA$H programs. This program was valued and $91,000 and helped boost awareness of the program statewide increasing use by an amazing 29 percent.
- The President’s Award for Volunteer of the Year Award for a Group was presented to Rolling Thunder. Rolling Thunder was recognized for their outstanding work with Volunteers of America’s veteran’s programs, particularly the Career House in Biddeford and the Arthur B. Huot House in Saco. The Veteran’s Career House is a combined transitional housing and employment program designed to provide safe supportive housing to homeless, male veterans. The Huot House serves male and female homeless veterans who are in need of stable housing and additional services to become independent and secure stable long-term housing and employment.
Rolling Thunder is dedicated to ensuring that our Prisoners Of War (POW) and Missing In Action (MIA) of all wars are never forgotten. Many members are veterans themselves and the local chapter in Saco has raised thousands of dollars for these veteran’s programs through their fundraising motorcycle “rides.” They have also donated furniture to help veterans who are ready to move out on their own, donated a flag pole for our Huot House and much more.
The Volunteers of America Community Leadership Awards is based on Volunteers of America’s vision recognizing the “spirit of compassion and collaboration” and being “innovative agents of social change”. This awards honors onprofits and businesses that exemplify these ideals and have positively impacted the community through their bold leadership and commitment to encouraging us to look beyond good to great.
- The Volunteers of America Community Leadership Award for Non-Profits was presented to the United Way of York County. The United Way of York County’s support of Let's Eat, a food security program for low-income seniors at the Paul Hazelton House in Saco, has helped ensure that no senior goes hungry. Mounting financial pressures on seniors has made it more difficult to make their fixed incomes keep up with rapidly rising costs. Food is often the first area where they are forced to cut costs. As a result, it can be difficult to afford a nourishing meal especially toward the end of the month.
Today, thanks to monthly food distributions, nutrition education and community meals made possible by the United Way of York County’s grant, food is available at times of need. Because the residents run the program, they are able to keep their dignity and work together to resolve this problem.
- The Volunteers of America Community Leadership Award for a Business was presented to General Dynamics - Bath Iron Works and Armament and Technical Products. When approached with the opportunity to support the opening of the newly developed Arthur B. Huot Veteran Housing program for homeless veterans, General Dynamics - Bath Iron Works and General Dynamics - Armament and Technical Products graciously stepped forward as committed and excited partners. Because of their support, Volunteers of America was able to host more than 300 people at the Huot House’s dedication. Most importantly, this event stressed the urgency of services for Maine’s homeless veterans and was attended by people who care and were ready to get involved. The money saved by this donation was used to meet additional needs of the homeless veterans. In addition, this project has become a springboard for “All the Way Home™”, a broader Volunteers of America initiative aimed at serving even more veterans in need in Maine.