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2009
Spirit of Giving Award Winners
Honoring
the Mid-South's outstanding volunteers
Volunteer
Program of the Year
Adult Volunteer of the Year
Lenore
S. Creson
Board Volunteer of the Year
Senior
Volunteer of the Year
Youth Volunteer of the Year
Small
Group Volunteers of the Year
Large
Group Volunteers of the Year
Media of the Year
Sponsors
Volunteer
Program of the Year
Mid-South Chapter of
the American Red Cross
Volunteers are true heroes and no agency knows that more
than an agency that was started 125 years ago by Clara
Barton. Ninety-six percent of the services and work provided
by the American Red Cross is accomplished by volunteers.
Their work is never done. When disaster strikes, be it a
fire, flood, hurricane, tornado-- the Red Cross is there
with professional and trained volunteers. In the mid-south
alone last year, thousands of individuals were served.
In the
past year, the Mid-South Chapter staff and volunteers
· assisted
907 families which lost their homes to fires
· trained
14,000 mid-southerners in CPR, First Aid, and aquatics
programs
· assisted
2,700 military families with emergency communications and
other services
· trained
5,600 children in home safety
· provided
emergency shelter and family assistance after communities
were devastated by two local tornadoes
· sheltered
3,000 evacuees during Hurricane Gustav; more than 700
volunteers assisted
That is
truly amazing work. For
most Red Cross volunteers the reward is in the work. That
reward is found when you wrap a blanket around the shoulders
of a woman whose home has burned to the ground, it is found
when you hand a cup of hot coffee to a tired firefighter, it
is found when you hear of someone’s life being saved because
someone knew how to administer CPR, it is found when you see
a child sleeping safely on a cot in a shelter after fleeing
from the destruction of a hurricane and from hearing a
mother say “I knew if I could just get to Memphis, someone
would help me," and help her they did.
2nd place: Pink Palace Family of Museums
3rd
place: The
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
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Adult Volunteer of the Year
Gina Thweatt, supporting
Fayette County Animal Rescue
This
lady has seen some pretty horrible things but she is “out
there” every day. Whether it is rescuing pit bulls from a
fighting situation, crawling in a ditch to rescue a puppy or
scrambling under a house to catch a cat, she is always
there, always willing to help the animals. She is a
volunteer, yet she puts in over 40 hour weeks. When not in
the field, she is managing the shelter, handling the
veterinary visits, processing shelter adoptions, giving
tours and providing educational sessions to business
leaders, schools and all that will listen. Last year, after
numerous setbacks, 17 horses were rescued from a horrific
situation. The owner was finally convicted but while
waiting the horses had to be cared for and untold hours were
spent by this volunteer hauling hay, feeding and caring for
the animals while building a case, and finding new homes.
One of the youngest of the rescued horses was adopted by
Priscilla Presley and is now living at Graceland. This is
just one example of where animals have been rescued from an
extreme situation of neglect and injury, rehabilitated and a
home found “fit for a king."
2nd place: Anthony Norris,
supporting the
LeBonheur Children’s Medical Center and Make A Splash
Mid-South
3rd
place: Carl
Miller, Jr., supporting
Cypress Middle School
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Lenore
S. Creson
Board Volunteer of the Year
Bob
Bernstein for
Alzheimer’s Day Services
Our winner
works the registration table, greets guests at events, leads
meetings and trainings, puts on an apron and serves meals,
dresses up as Santa and yes, is a Board Member. He seems to
know everyone and his personality, networking abilities,
dedication and humor keeps the Alzheimer’s Day Services of
Memphis in front of the growing number of people who face
this diagnosis, both the victims and the caregivers.
He
knows dementia is a frightening condition to which no one is
immune.
2nd
place:
Frank Davis, supporting
Hope House
3rd
place: Maxine
Strawder, supporting
Project Motion
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Senior
Volunteer of the Year
Harriet Stern,
supporting
Jewish Historical Society of Memphis and the Mid-South
For
over 50 years our winner’s volunteer service has affected
people’s lives and made them better. She has volunteered as
a tutor, at MIFA, Ronald McDonald House, Brooks Museum,
Peace and Justice Center, and, adopted a Vietnamese family
though Catholic Charities. The list is long, very long for
the many agencies she has served throughout our community.
Her daughter tells a story – she was sick and some friends
dropped by to visit. When she came out of the bedroom in
her pajamas, her mother told her to go back to her room and
put on a robe – the daughter’s response “I can’t… you gave
all my robes away”. Her mother had provided clothing for
108 needy families. When she sees a need, she makes sure it
is met, quietly and unassuming.
2nd
place:
Brigadier Gertrude Purdue, supporting
The Salvation Army
3rd
place: Larry
Campagna, supporting
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
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Youth Volunteer of the Year
Alycia Duffey
supporting
Bolton High School Teen Volunteer Program
Those
of us who attend this event regularly are humbled by the
level of creativity, motivation, and organization
demonstrated by our young people, and this year’s winner
is no exception.
She is described as
exuberant, having a “zest for life,” tireless, reliable and
a “can do” attitude. She started a Volunteer Service club
at her school from “ground zero” that currently claims over
100 members. These members have assisted in numerous
volunteer activities working on projects at the YMCA, Pink
Palace, Children’s Museum, Bartlett Animal Shelter and many
more. She will be graduating this year from Bolton High
School and through her vision and leadership she has blazed
a trail for students to be aware and involved while
providing the foundation for volunteerism to continue to
grow for the students at Bolton.
2nd place:
Mai
Lam for
Multi-National Ministries
3rd
place:
Uri
Whang supporting by
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis
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Small
Group Volunteers of the Year
Mid-South Therapy
Dogs & Their Handlers,
supporting
Mid-South Therapy
Outreach
It
started out small but has become so successful and response
has been so positive that this group of dedicated volunteers
is in great demand. There is never a charge for their
services and volunteers operate solely on donations from the
community or their own personal funds. These volunteers
with their four legged companions are faithful, consistent,
professional and compassionate. These “four-legged”
volunteers, with their handlers visit Baptist, Methodist,
St. Jude and LeBonheur hospitals along with participating in
the library’s READ program, Camp Good Grief and visiting
hospice patients. Many
patients who have been unresponsive, lonely and depressed
start to show signs of recovery, increased participation in
leisure-related activities and most of all returned smiles
and joy. These visits are also morale boosters for staff
members that deal with death and dying every day.
2nd place: Mid-South Lions Sight & Hearing group, supporting
Methodist Healthcare
3rd
place: Circus Team from the University of Memphis Physics
Department -
John A. Daffron, Dr, Robert Marchini, Ted Clarke, Lewis
O’Kelly & Judy Daffron,
supporting Pink Palace Museum
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Large
Group Volunteers of the Year
Cross Culture Volunteers of Central High School, supporting
the Methodist LeBonheur Hospital
For
the past year this group of young volunteers has offered a
unique approach to cultures and minority groups within
Memphis that has not been offered in the past. They have
opened doors to expose groups of students to the healthcare
world, discovered that cultural diversity leads to greater
understanding and acceptance of individuals while reflecting
the rich, diverse cultures of Memphis within a hospital
setting. Serving as volunteers providing services ranging
from clerical duties to minor clinical services these
students allow for sensitivity, education and special
outreach to patients, visitors, and staff along with the
immigrant youth of Memphis. Currently 34 students from
various countries work after school at Methodist LeBonheur
not only enriching and broadening their own lives but the
lives of those being served.
2nd Place:
Access
to Justice Committee-Memphis Bar Association, supporting the Memphis
Area
Legal Services
3rd Place: The
Golden Notes,
supporting the
Lewis
Center for Senior Citizens
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Media of the Year
Comcast supporting
Hope House
An
incredible relationship that started out as a team-building
effort among employees has evolved into an ongoing
relationship that has provided untold resources and
awareness to an agency that many feared simply because they
were uninformed or just not educated about their mission and
the community they serve. From a golf tournament to
technical support, to bringing Santa and the Easter Bunny
each year to visit, from updated playground equipment to
even having staff serve on the Board of Directors --
Comcast, has provided their expertise through volunteer
support, public service announcements, fundraising efforts
and much more.
2nd
place:
ABC
24-Eyewitness News Midday Team (Tonya Powers, Bonny Kinney
and Terrance Bates) supporting
Ronald McDonald House of Memphis
3rd place:
WREG-TV,
Channel 3 supporting
Salvation Army
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SPONSORS:
Benefactor
Sponsor
Helping Hands
 
Junior League of
Memphis
National Council
of Jewish Women - Memphis Section
United Way of the Mid-South |
