The state's service volunteers will be honored Thursday at a luncheon in the Thompson Alumni Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Nebraska first lady Sally Ganem is honorary chairwoman of the ServeNebraska 2011 First Lady's Outstanding Community Service Awards. Jamesena Moore is chairwoman of ServeNebraska, the Nebraska Volunteer Service Commission.
The 2011 Impact Award honorees:
National Service Award: Geraldine Stirtz, coordinator of the University of Nebraska at Kearney's Office for Service Learning since 1990. She recruits and oversees the AmeriCorps program on campus and has created a graduate course for instructors to learn and apply service-learning in their classrooms.
Outstanding volunteer group of the year: Eastern Nebraska-Western Iowa Medical Reserve Corps had volunteers at 30 community events, participated in training exercises and disaster services exercises, assisted H1N1 vaccination clinics and provided first aid at numerous events.
Outstanding volunteer of the year: Sallie Atkins of Halsey, Neb., who, as president of the Nebraska State Fair Board, had to move the fair from Lincoln to a new site in Grand Island — in 400 days — coordinating the volunteers who made it possible. And she did it while being treated for breast cancer.
Debra Hartman Award: Michael Ryan, executive director of the Gathering Place in Lincoln, which offers free meals for 80 to 130 people five nights a week. He does everything from helping in the kitchen to making sure the center is a safe and peaceful place to eat.
The First Lady's Outstanding Community Service Awards recipients:
Outstanding service-learning adult leader: Terry McMullen, Omaha. During his tenure on the Metropolitan Community College Foundation board, he has been a strong supporter of service learning, helped distribute thousands of books to the Omaha community and actively promoted literacy.
Outstanding service-learning student leader: Hannah Thompson, Omaha. The student leader of Do Unto Others at the College of St. Mary, she was involved in such projects as collecting shoes for children in developing countries, a clothing drive for the Open Door Mission, a book drive for children in Uganda, and raising money for Mercy Beyond Borders in Sudan.
Outstanding service-learning program: UNO Service-Learning Academy, which builds bridges between the university and the community. Since 1998, the organization has grown from 70 students to about 4,000 students who contribute $1 million in volunteer service a year.
Outstanding school volunteer program: Stolley Park Reading Together Tutors, Grand Island. These dedicated fourth- and fifth-graders arrive at school early four days a week in order to help younger students with their reading.
Outstanding community partnership in education: Operation SMART, College of St. Mary and Girls Inc., Omaha. Students and faculty at the college teach 70 to 100 girls each semester to develop a positive attitude toward and additional skills in math, science and technology.
Outstanding business support for education: Omaha Yahoo Employee Foundation, Omaha. The group has made a long-term commitment to helping refugee families in the Omaha area through the Lutheran Family Services refugee resettlement program.
Outstanding student leader: Marya Case-Ruchala, Lincoln. As leader of the Lincoln Youth Volunteers, high school students who develop their own volunteer projects to address needs in the community, she has planned, organized and managed meetings and project ideas, and helped the group grow.
Outstanding community service in ecology or environmental stewardship: Green Bellevue, Bellevue. This grassroots coalition of business people, the military, schools, government agencies and ordinary citizens has worked to raise awareness of the environment and make the city a “greener” community.
Outstanding community service project: Irving Middle School Community Outreach Challenge, Lincoln. The school and its PTO partnered in a challenge to provide 1,500 hours of volunteer service in November 2010. They far surpassed that goal, donating 2,845 hour of community service. Students, families and teachers all contributed to the effort.
Lifetime achievement in volunteer service: Sandra Meyer, North Platte. She has served the community's cancer patients, spending 1,000 hours a year teaching survivor classes and related activities for the past 10 years. Her projects have grown to include schools, businesses, health-care professionals and others. She also teaches workshops across the state and has taken her ideas to the Virgin Islands and the British West Indies. She fought cancer successfully more than 25 years ago and now is undergoing treatment again — so she understands the people she is working to help.
More information on the awards and how to nominate a person or group is available at www.serve.nebraska.gov.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1067, carol.bicak@owh.com
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