A Cassopolis teen was among honorees at the Volunteer Center of Southwest Michigan’s 19th Annual National Volunteer Week Luncheon Thursday in Benton Harbor.

Tommy First, a senior at Ross Beatty Jr./Sr. High School, was among 11 youth honored at the Lake Michigan College Mendel Center. Youth were nominated by schools and nonprofit organizations as individuals who exemplify the values of volunteerism. Each demonstrated a spirit of involvement, which builds character, generosity and self-discipline.

Tommy collected 2,700 pairs of shoes for victims of the earthquake in Haiti last year.

The idea for the shoe drive came from his mother, Liz, who had a dream Tommy held a shoe collection for the earthquake victims.

The night before Liz’s dream, she and Tommy had been looking at photos of the Haitian people amidst the aftermath of the earthquake.

“We said, ‘look at these people. They’re not even wearing shoes.’ And I said, ‘All these shoes you have and these people don’t have any,'” Liz said in an interview during the shoe collection, which Tommy named “Happy Feet for Haiti.”

Tommy loves sneakers, and had 28 pairs of them until the project.

He donated the first 10.

“We take for granted so much stuff that they don’t have,” Tommy said. “It’s sad to see them walking around like this and see us throwing away stuff.”

Donations for Happy Feet for Haiti were given to Rays of Hope for Haiti, a shipping agency out of Grand Rapids, to get them into the right hands — or feet.

He also designed fliers and worked with area businesses to set up collection boxes.

“I pretty much knew how to make my own business plan,” Tommy said. “I’m really into business. That’s what I want to go to college for. So I just started going to work on it.”

Tommy received a $1,000 scholarship from Chemical Bank and $1,000 to donate to the charity of his choice from Michigan Gateway Community Foundation. He was nominated by Ross Beatty Jr./Sr. High School.

Other volunteers honored Thursday include:

• Andrea Brown, Berrien Springs High School

• Kelli Brownfield, Coloma High School

• Tyler Clark, St. Joseph High School

• Dana Getz, St. Joseph High School

• Shelby Jordan, Marcellus High School

• Megan McNitt, St. Joseph High School

• John Robertson Jr., Alpha Omega Academy

• Ashleigh Smith, South Haven High School

• Brittany Smith, Grace Christian High School

• Emma Tressmer, Coloma High School

Five area businesses — Best Way Disposal, The Orchards Mall, TechniSand and WYTZ 97.5 Y-Country — were nominated for Corporate Neighbor of the Year. TechniSand was chosen for their extensive employee volunteerism that is supported by a commitment from the company to underwrite employee time off for 40 hours of volunteer service annually.

The Frederick S. Upton Foundation and United Way of Southwest Michigan received 10 nominations for the Margaret B. Upton Volunteer Leadership Award.  Pricilla Upton Byrnes, on behalf of the Upton family, recognized nominees Anna Abdelnour, Earl Becher, James Brinkmann, Robert Burgess, Margaret Cain, Rosa Gelder, Julee Laurent,  David Neidlinger, Steve Sizer and Dr. Solomon and Joycelyn Ward.

Sizer, of Harbert, was named 2011 recipient for this prestigious award.  He was nominated by Twin City Players and he has a longstanding history of volunteerism dating back more than 50 years with many area organizations. One of Sizer’s greatest abilities lies in his propensity to “see beyond a project and look to see how his skills can strengthen an organization in the long run,” said Lisa Cripps, Twin City Players member.

The Kathryn S. Rossow Professionalism in Volunteer Management Award was created to recognize contributions on local, state and national level by founding Volunteer Center Director Kathy Rossow. Nominated were Sharon Brown, Emma Kinnard, Jim Mahler, Nicholas Pampalone, Samantha Reyes, Candace Skalla, Beverly Stewart and Autumn Zick.

Stewart was chosen for her commitment to professionalism in volunteer management and her ability to recruit and retain volunteers.

“Her volunteers love and adore her,” stated Warren Washington, executive director of child and family services.

All award recipients agree that you don’t have to be a superhero to help somebody. Individuals who would like to connect to volunteer opportunities should contact the Volunteer Center of Southwest Michigan at 983-0912 or 683-5464 or volunteer@volunteerswmi.org. They can also visit www.volunteerswmi.org and read about volunteer opportunities on Facebook.

The Volunteer Center is a United Way agency affiliated with the HandsOn Network and Youth Volunteer Corps.