By Staff
BENTON HARBOR – The contributions of all the volunteers that make Southwest Michigan a great place to live were celebrated Thursday at Lake Michigan College Mendel Center. The Volunteer Center of Southwest Michigan hosted the 16th annual National Volunteer Week Luncheon attended by 350 volunteers and community leaders.
Twenty youth were nominated by schools, churches, and nonprofit organizations as individuals who exemplify the values of volunteerism. Each demonstrated a spirit of involvement which builds character, generosity and self discipline.
Nominated youth were:
Sheena Atcher, Benton Harbor High School
Madeline Blyveis, St. Joseph High School
Haley Bradley, Lakeshore High School
Abbey Clark, Lakeshore High School
Corissa Clinard, Niles High School
Caitlin Dahmer, Lakeshore High School
Jordan Edwards, St. Joseph High School
Sonya Gast, Bridgman High School
Jerniqua Guidry, Benton Harbor High School
Katie Hurst, St. Joseph High School
Nolan Kahne, St. Joseph High School
Lauren Levy, Berrien Springs High School
Jessica Reed, Benton Harbor High School
Elizabeth Rohl, New Buffalo High School
Rachel Scheid, St. Joseph High School
Aaron Smith, Niles High School
Eric Steiner, Niles High School
Seth Voege, Marcellus High School
Derrick Walton, Cassopolis High School
Celia Zhang, St. Joseph High School
Celia Zhang won the Youth Volunteer Leadership Scholarship Award from Berrien Community Foundation. Seth Voege of Cass County and Caitlin Dahmer of Berrien County won Youth Asset Builder Awards from United Way of Southwest Michigan.
Top honors for 2008 Outstanding Youth Volunteer went to Haley Bradley. Haley received a $1000 scholarship from Chemical Bank and $1000 to donate to the charity of her choice from Gateway Community Foundation. Haley was nominated by Ronald McDonald House. Since 1997 she has been responsible for getting area schools enthusiastically and successfully involved in collecting pop tabs. Through her tremendous efforts and diligence, she has secured over 4 million pop tabs since 1997. She has been a crusader for this project and also shown leadership with other activities.
Five area businesses: Bosch Rexroth Corporation, Express-1, Kohl's Department Store, Orchard's Mall, and Target were nominated for Corporate Neighbor of the Year. Express-1 was chosen for their extensive employee volunteerism with many organizations and schools. Although they are an international business, they have remained passionately loyal to the local community sponsoring many events, providing in-kind services, and encouraging employees to volunteer.
The Fredrick S. Upton Foundation and United Way of Southwest Michigan received six nominations for the Margaret B. Upton Volunteer Leadership Award. Priscilla Upton Byrns, on behalf of the Upton family, recognized nominees: Alice Kring, Sue Burkhard, Michael Gallagher, Dennis Bowen, Richard Mann, Sue Scherwitz, and Mary Belski. Belski was chosen for this honor because of her life long commitment to service.
Over the last 40 years she has volunteered approximately 20,000 hours to the Red Cross alone. She has also found time to volunteer for other organizations such as HOSTS, her parish and community groups.
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. Barbara Lane, R.N. was chosen for exemplifying what a volunteer coordinator should be.
For the last 20 years she has been a team member, working along side volunteers, monitoring their effectiveness and needs so that the best care available is provided to clients and their families through Berrien County Cancer Services. She has also been a role model for other volunteer management professionals.
Individuals who would like to connect to volunteer opportunities should contact the Volunteer Center of Southwest Michigan at 983-0912 or 683-5464 or contact them at the email: