San Antonio volunteers honored at community-wide
Volunteer of the Year Awards event
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (June 12, 2015) – The Volunteer Center at United Way hosted the 26th annual Volunteer of the Year Awards dinner Friday, June 12, 2015, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.
Over 900 people attended the Night of a Thousand Stars program to thank local citizens whose good works help improve the community. Over 160 local heroes were nominated.
At this year’s Volunteer of the Year Awards, San Antonio’s single-largest volunteer recognition event of the year, 18 awards saluted the feats of volunteers living throughout San Antonio and Bexar County. All nominees received recognition and a $1,000 mini-grant was presented to each winner to benefit their charity of choice.
Local volunteers have touched the lives of thousands of children and families across our community. In addition to United Way awards honoring individuals, families, and groups; awards were presented for nonprofit, faith-based, arts and culture, business, military and labor organizations, Mayor’s Youth Awards and an Unsung Hero award.
Sea World whale trainer, actor, and Spurs in-arena host Chuck Cureau emceed the festivities. Event chairs were Adam Hamilton, president and CEO of Southwest Research Institute (SwRI); and Lieutenant General Perry Wiggins, Commander, US Army North (Fifth Army) and Senior Commander of Fort Sam Houston and Camp Bullis.
The Volunteer of the Year Awards Presenting Sponsor is Valero Energy Corp. Platinum Galaxy sponsors include CPS Energy, H-E-B Tournament of Champions, the Gambrinus Company, the City of San Antonio, and Bear Audio Visual.
The audience enjoyed a special song and dance performance by Mission Road Ministries’ Unicorn Steppers. The 24-member dance group is made up of clients with intellectual development disabilities who learn about cooperation, goal setting, and peer support through dance.
Volunteering is a unique part of the American culture. The next generation learns from the one before and multiple generations of families come together to help others. Volunteerism helps change the lives of others and improve communities. Volunteering is known to have health benefits, enhance careers, provide social connections, and engender a sense of satisfaction in the volunteers themselves.
Working in the community since 1989, the Volunteer Center at United Way is Bexar County’s largest resource devoted solely to the promotion and nurturing of volunteerism and community service.
The Volunteer Center helps to engage volunteers for both United Way and non-United Way agencies, as well as for a variety of community projects including: the Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving Dinner, H-E-B Annual Feast of Sharing, Martin Luther King Day, volunteers for disasters (hurricanes, floods, fires), in addition to hundreds of non-profit and civic projects during the year.
United Way’s annual Days of Caring on Sept. 24-26, 2015, will include beautification, tree planting, painting, mulching, and other tasks.
This year, United Way’s first-ever Shoebox Project will culminate on June 20, 2015, when 41 nonprofit partners serving local children, veterans, elderly, homeless and vulnerable populations will take delivery of the boxes. Businesses, organizations and individuals throughout Bexar County are expected to deliver 5,000 shoeboxes filled with toiletries such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, lotion, deodorant, soap, shaving cream, washcloths, and socks.
Founded in 1940, United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County has been helping the individuals, families and neighborhoods of San Antonio to live united for the past 75 years.
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2015 VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS
Name: Valentin Tristan
Category: Community Service Award – Individual
Valentin Tristan has been a volunteer to the Senior Companion Program of Christian Senior Services for over 18 years. He is retired and yet continues to give back to his community. His genuine concern and caring nature has made a huge impact on the people he serves. He enjoys helping those who can no longer do for themselves. As a senior himself, Tristan provides a peer-to-peer relationship with clients that quickly develop into one of trust and long-lasting friendship. At 80 years old, he is unable to drive, lives on a fixed income well below the poverty line, and must utilize a walker to get to and from his clients’ home. His tough exterior reflects his time as a rifleman in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and as a career truck driver. His service to his country did not stop after his military service. He continues to serve his community.
Name: Blanton Family
Category: Community Service Award – Family
Aissatou and Stewart Blanton have embraced multiple roles to further the mission of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Alamo Area (BBBS). Since the early 1990s, they have mentored six children through BBBS around the country, including four in San Antonio. The Blanton’s have developed unique ways to leverage opportunities for BBBS. For example, in lieu of receiving wedding gifts in 2012, they asked that donations be made to BBBS. As a result the agency received enough funds to cover the administrative expenses for two mentoring relationships for a full year. The fact that both participate as a couple in Big Brothers Big Sisters is not common. They represent less than two percent of the more than 1,400 volunteers in the San Antonio area.
Name: African American Mentoring Initiative Advisory Council (AAMIAC)
Category: Community Service Award – Group
Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) can count on the African American Mentoring Initiative Council (AAMIAC) members to enhance awareness and promote mentoring opportunities for the organization. When the Council was first formed in 2011, only 2.5 percent of all mentors were African American men, while 13 percent of children waiting were African American boys. Now, 7.5 percent of all mentors are African American men. AAMIAC is closing this gap by increasing the BBBS presence in the African American community within San Antonio with their constant, selfless service. Four years ago, AAMIAC members began mentoring a group of at-risk sixth graders. Today, these boys are an impressive group of engaged high school freshmen involved in student government and other extracurricular activities, with improved behavior at home and in the classroom. In addition, AAMIAC secured a $1,000 science and engineering grant for Sam Houston High School. As a result, parents, teachers, and administrators welcome AAMIAC volunteers as valued partners.
Name: Victor Lopez
Category: Military Service Award – Individual
At 87 years old, Victor Lopez has volunteered for 19-plus years at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC.) He is a gentle soul and faithful in his service to others. He is ever mindful of the reasons people come to a hospital and he does all that is humanly possible to help them. It is said that he “has a PhD in customer service.” During the course of his shift, he greets, directs and gives information to as many as 100 people per hour, both in person and telephonically. He is confronted by people of all shapes, sizes and situations; and he is their “rock,” providing sincere, comforting, and on-target directions or information to alleviate the initial stress one can feel in a large and daunting hospital. He is a focal point for hospital information and does his job with efficiency and great calm. He has volunteered 4,500 hours in support of BAMC’s mission overall and 264 hours in 2014 alone.
Name: The Rosales Family
Category: Military Service Award – Family
Oscar and Lupe Rosales have been serving Wounded Warriors and their families for the past five years at The Warrior and Family Support Center. With a combined 554 volunteer hours in 2014 alone, they are both quiet professionals who show their love and respect for Wounded Warriors by doing whatever is asked of them and then some. Every Friday morning the Rosales’ are in charge of the kitchen. They also help with special events during holidays, pool parties during 100 degree temperatures, back-to- school bashes and many others. They understand that when Wounded Warriors come to the kitchen or special events, they are often looking for more than just food. The families have left behind jobs, schools, friends and other support that they would normally have in their hometowns. The food that they lovingly prepare is secondary to why they are there. They are there to connect Wounded Warriors and families so they know they are not alone.
Name: Wilford Hall Auxiliary
Category: Military Service Award – Group
The Wilford Hall Auxiliary (WHA) works with an indefatigable energy to support the 59th Medical Wing members and their families – all while taking care of their own families and meeting their work commitments. Their passion and creativity leave a lasting mark on the Wounded Warriors, families, and military members they help. The WHA is comprised of 40 members and they volunteered more than 1,800 hours in 2014. They support organizations like the Wounded Warrior Adaptive Sports Camp for veterans with disabilities and the Fisher House, which provides temporary lodging for families of injured service members receiving medical care. WHA members help children of deployed military personnel go to summer camps, and they spend countless hours preparing and mailing care packages to parents of children in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the nearby San Antonio Military Medical Center. The WHA donates school supplies to students in need and provides Teddy bears for pediatric dental patients. They have enriched the lives of thousands of people and have significantly improved the esprit de corps of the Airmen of the 59th Medical Wing and their families.
Name: Hannah Leake
Category: Mayor’s Award for Youth – Individual
Hannah Leake is Lifetime Girl Scout member in Troop 375. An exemplary student Leake attends Wagner High school, is a lifetime honor roll student and is in the varsity band where she is a noted pianist. Leake has a compassion for helping others and has achieved the Girl Scout Silver Award and is working on her Gold Award. As a mentor for the little girls in the Pretty Brown Club, Leake designed and created a community service project, “Hello Beautiful…I am Talking to You.” This self-esteem empowerment program, teaches these little girls become more confident and to love the skin that they are in. Accumulating over 250 volunteer service hours, Leake also volunteers as a mentor for her church, a financial secretary for Top Teens of America, and provides the Carver Public Library with volunteers and programs for its inner-city students. She is a pleasant young lady of excellence who has a positive outlook on life with a compassion for enhancing the quality of life of those less fortunate.
Name: Youth Against Gang Activity (YAGA)
Category: Mayor’s Youth Award – Group
Students who choose to participate in Family Services Association’s Youth Against Gang Activity (YAGA) program are recognized as being humble, dedicated, and inspiring. Members are provided the opportunity to grow academically, spiritually, and emotionally by creating bonds throughout the community that not only strengthen the community, but build strong, healthy youth who will eventually lead the community. YAGA focuses its attention to building a better community on its own through mentoring younger children after school and building relationships with senior citizens with whom they can relate and learn. This year alone, YAGA will involve 3,000 youth and family members in its efforts, and 97 percent of students involved graduate from high school. Many times volunteers become first generation college students, going on to become teachers, medical assistants, social workers, or members of our armed forces. YAGA students understand that true success means choosing success for yourself; and, more importantly, turning around to help someone else succeed as well.
Name: Charlene A. Carpenter
Category: Unsung Hero Award
Charlene Carpenter is an outstanding volunteer operating nurse and nurse mentor at Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, accumulating 12,439 hours during her 17 years of volunteering, saving the government $291,072.60. She specializes in preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative care with patients, outpatients, and families. Carpenter has logged 554 hours of direct patient care. She has helped restore the optimal quality of life to more than 1,500 patients. Her expert nursing has helped return over 900 Air Force, Army and Navy patients back to duty. In 1997- 2006, she assisted an orthopedic oncology surgeon in 152 orthopedic limb salvage procedures. Carpenter’s other community outreach includes supporting her church and other agencies. She assists with preparing quarterly meals for seniors, is a lay reader, and knits hats and booties for an organization helping premature babies. In 17 years, the only time Carpenter did not appear for work was during ice storms when she could not drive down the hill on which her home resides.
Name: San Antonio Folk Dance Festival Committee
Category: Arts and Culture Award
San Antonio Folk Dance Festival (SAFDF) was founded by Nelda Guerrero Drury in 1958 to bring world-class teachers of ethnic dances to Central Texas, produce a diverse concert of folk dance presentations, and preserve and cultivate a community of international folk dancers. Now entering its 58th year, the SAFDF Committee continues to build upon the foundation of excellence established by founder Nelda Drury, age 97, who continues to serve in an advisory capacity. The current SAFDF Committee has provided over 10,000 volunteer hours in the last five years to this established, popular, annual event. They have served as event coordinators, cooks, dance partners, hospitality, ushers, sign and prop builders, grant writers, audio visual technicians, stage managers, bookkeepers, publicists, graphic artists, website administrators, and more. Their volunteerism is commendable, but the impact is immeasurable.
Name: Redeemer Presbyterian Church
Category: Faith-Based Award – Church
Redeemer Presbyterian began the Christmas Box of Hope project in 2003 and delivered 500 boxes to a couple of community centers in the West Side. Each Christmas Box of Hope contains nonperishable food items that feed a family of four for a week during the holiday, when resources are low and schools are closed and families oftentimes can’t provide meals for their children. In 2014, they assembled and delivered 7,500 food boxes to public schools, shelters, community centers, and other agencies that serve the neediest in San Antonio. To accomplish this project every year, the church garners support from over 1,400 volunteers, many of whom are past recipients of a Food Box of Hope and now want to give back to the community. Mothers often leave in tears because they no longer have to worry about how to feed their children during school break. Redeemer Presbyterian Church also serves the homeless population, hosts a free soccer camp for children and serves at a pregnancy care center.
Name: Mary E. Davidson, Laborers International Union Local 1095
Category: Labor Award – Individual
Mary Davidson of Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 1095 is committed to her union and the veterans of our country. Davidson has volunteered with the Viet Nam Veterans of America’s local chapter for nearly 15 years. She also volunteers with the First Marine Division. Last year the First Marine Division hosted an outdoor event for 21 Wounded Warriors. Davidson was there early and did anything asked of her. Suddenly a radio call came in for water and food at a site that was almost a mile away from registration. One of the participants was in distress and needed help as soon as possible. Davidson jogged all the way to deliver what was needed. Many who know her know that she is not a jogger, rather she is the business manager of the Laborer’s 1095 and most of the time is sitting behind a desk or at a meeting representing her membership. The organizations and volunteer work that Davidson is involved with are essential and she is good at it. She is not shy when it comes to standing up for what she believes in–her union and the veterans of America.
Name: Louise Jordan, National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 421
Category: Labor Award – Individual
Louise Jordan is a caring soul to whoever needs any kind of help and is too proud to ask for it. She has a knack for recognizing these individuals. She doesn’t hesitate to give anyone her last dollar. When the opportune time arrives, she is the first to help out, to volunteer. Jordan has been a letter carrier and active Union member for many years at the Arsenal Station. She has been very active in activities to include organizing the National Association of Letter Carriers’ Golf Tournament benefitting the San Antonio Food Bank. After carrying her route, she will volunteer at the Food Bank sorting the food. She has contributed countless gifts for fundraising raffles for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and also volunteers her time to assist union retirees with a Christmas collection for Child Protective Services.
Name: American Red Cross
Category: Nonprofit Organization – Volunteer Board of Directors
The board of the American Red Cross serving Greater San Antonio is an extraordinary group of hardworking, loyal and mission-driven individuals. A volunteer-driven organization, the Board goes above and beyond in leading the chapter staff and engaging Red Cross volunteers, increasing volunteerism last year by 72 percent. Business-savvy members of the Board have also initiated a Business Segment Initiative, which to date has raised over $1 million in local corporate gifts to the Red Cross mission. Board members serve a three-year term with a maximum of three consecutive terms. Several Board members have served their maximum terms, only to take their required leave of absence and return to service. The Red Cross Board provided the oversight for the rollout of a new training and recognition program called Red Cross University, which will provide a pathway for all volunteers to be prepared and earn “degrees” within the different lines of services.
Name: The Cherice Cochrane Mentoring for Success Foundation
Category: Nonprofit Organization – Volunteer Program
The Cherice Cochrane Mentoring for Success Foundation is a youth leadership development and enrichment organization that focuses on academic excellence, demonstrated leadership, commitment to volunteerism and connecting students to caring mentors. Its vision is to have an impact on teens during their formative years. Young people who have caring adults in their lives are less likely to participate in risk-taking behaviors. They attend self-esteem building workshops, financial literacy, image enhancement, Dress for Success, resume construction, scholarship attainment, presentation skills, and other opportunities to provide teens with young professionals who assist them in their path to success. Volunteers spend at least 20 hours a week with their mentees. The Foundation’s students are now enjoying successful careers as military officers, pediatricians, attorneys, entrepreneurs, educators, engineers, doctors, and college students with full scholarships at Ivy League schools.
Name: Marcus Peoples
Category: Corporate Award – Individual
Marcus Peoples is an enthusiastic, high-energy leader committed to motivating others to be the best possible version of themselves. As leader of VIA’s United Way Charitable Campaign, Peoples worked innovatively and diligently to push VIA participation to an all-time high. Under his leadership, VIA had both the highest amount raised and also the highest number of donors in the organization’s history of United Way campaigns. He also has coordinated VIA’s participation with ATU union members to maximize VIA’s participation in community events such as the MLK March and the Cesar Chavez March. Through his efforts, VIA has also become involved with Junior Achievement and Big Brothers/Big Sisters. His commitment to excellence and inspiring excellence in others is contagious and inspirational.
Name: Madhatters Tea House and Cafe
Category: Corporate Award – Small Business
Gina & Joey Cuellar, owners of Madhatter’s Tea House & Café, spend a significant amount of time dedicated to service to the community. For the past several years, they have organized a music festival that raises much-needed funds for local schools. These extremely busy small business owners also assist countless non-profits by donating catering and gift certificates for a wide-variety of causes. In addition, they realized they had the capacity to give even more and unselfishly dedicated part of their limited office suite to a fledgling non-profit that could not afford office space. For the past several years, the Cuellar’s have had Madhatter’s provide catering for a large fundraising event for Ready, Willing…Enable! an organization providing education for persons with disabilities through programs such as a summer camp and transportation initiatives. They have organized drives that support children on their way back to school and others that supports our troops overseas. Many small business owners must spend an enormous amount of time focused on the success of their business. Since the Cuellar’s purchased Madhatters in 2009, they have not been an exception in that regard by working seven days a week, as well as raising their children. However, in addition to running a successful business, they have also been extremely generous to the community.
Name: Alliance Data
Category: Corporate Award – Large Business
The Alliance Data team consistently demonstrates a commitment to fighting hunger in the community by being eager cheerleaders for the San Antonio Food Bank. They are always ready to help out – no matter the task. Alliance Data team members gave a total of 669 hours this year to the San Antonio Food Bank, assisting with warehouse projects ranging from sorting donated food as well as building food boxes for seniors and backpacks for children. Alliance Data also helped the Food Bank build 18,000 holiday bags of food to assist families during the long break from school. Volunteering monthly in the Food Bank kitchen at Haven for Hope, Alliance Data provides assistance with meal preparation and food service to the residents. Collectively, Alliance employees provided 73,912 meals to those in need–a tremendous impact in the fight against hunger. Fostering a culture of service, Alliance closes down its facility and ceases operations so that all team members have the opportunity to volunteer at the Food Bank or Haven for Hope and donate their time. They also reimburse mileage for anyone who drives others! This is an extraordinary practice for a business that cares deeply for its community.