David Kirshenbaum, of Benton Harbor, was named the 2014 recipient of the Margaret B. Upton Volunteer Leadership Award at last night’s United Way of Southwest Michigan Volunteer Recognition Event. This honor is administered by United Way, on behalf of Margaret Upton’s family. Also presented at the event were the United Way Powerful Giving Awards and the LIVE UNITED Youth Scholarships.

LIVE UNITED Youth Scholarship

Katlyn Zimmerman of Grace Christian School and Eleanor Hein of Niles High School won the LIVE UNITED Youth Scholarships for Berrien and Cass County. Each winner received a $500 scholarship for her education.

Zimmerman has been an active volunteer, even before moving to Michigan three years ago. When she lived in New Jersey, she volunteered at a crisis pregnancy center, where she organized a baby bottle campaign with her peers and raised over $1,000 in one week. Zimmerman has shown great concern for others by volunteering in many ways. She has assisted in raising funds for a young girl with a serious health issue, helped an elderly couple with yard work, organized holiday food drives and American Red Cross blood drives, and participated in a mission trip to Jamaica where she visited orphanages, nursing homes, and schools to help out in any way needed. Through her volunteer experiences, Zimmerman has developed skills in leading groups, which will be beneficial in her future endeavors.

Eleanor Hein is the kind of student that teachers and advisors love to work with. She helped plan and implement a district wide initiative “Vikings Stop Bullying,” a program to discourage bullying in schools. Ele’s “Chuck the Duck” project was a very successful venture to raise money for cancer research in memory of her Grandpa Chuck. She raised a duck named Chuck to be sold at the Cass County Fair with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society Research fund. Throughout the summer, she spoke to service organizations, television stations, and the local Relay for Life before promoting her duck at the fair, which raised over $800. She hopes that her project will inspire other students to think of projects similar to hers.

 

About United Way

United Way of Southwest Michigan improves lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities. Improving lives happens through advancing the building blocks of a good life; Education, Income, Health, and Basic Needs. We all win when a child succeeds in school, when families are financially stable, when people are healthy and have all their basic needs met. It takes everyone in the community working together to create a brighter future. United Way invites the community to be a part of the change. That’s what it means to LIVE UNITED. For more information about United Way, please visit www.uwsm.org or www.liveunited.org.