Nominations Underway for Washington’s volunteers - Serve Washington

Nominations Underway for Washington’s volunteers

Written by Amber Martin-Jahn, Office of Financial Management | amber.martin-jahn@ofm.wa.gov

The organization Serve Washington is now accepting nominations for outstanding volunteers in Washington communities. These awards honor the exemplary service of individuals, groups and organizations that made a significant and measurable contribution to their communities through service and volunteering during 2018.

This year’s 2019 honorees will be recognized at an April 12 ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion in Olympia.

“The awards honor some of Washington’s most dedicated volunteers," Gov. Jay Inslee said. "Their service is the foundation for caring communities and a thriving Washington. I am always impressed with the dedication, innovation and leadership of Washington’s volunteers and I encourage organizations from across the state to submit a nomination.”

In 2018, the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award honored 20 individuals. Mike Port received the 2018 Governor’s Volunteer Service award in the health care category. Port, a Seattle Children’s Hospital volunteer, said receiving the award was further affirmation that he’s doing something good for the staff, parents and children at the hospital.

“There isn’t a shift that goes by that someone hasn’t thanked me for being there,” he said. “The award was a ‘thank you' on a much higher level, and I was honored and humbled at the same time. It is an event I will cherish the rest of my life.”

Barbara Tilley, Wenatchee resident, received the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award in the Senior Corps category for volunteering with RSVP of North Central Washington. The nonprofit recruits and places volunteers in the area.

“I felt most honored, and yet very humbled, to be chosen as one of the honorees,” Tilley said. “The day at the Governor’s Mansion was wonderful! It was so inspiring to learn about all the voluntary service projects and the leaders. Washington state is indeed so fortunate to have this huge volunteer force in place.”

Volunteer recognition is a key component of effective volunteer management. Last year, more than 2 million Washington residents–35 percent of the state’s population–volunteered for 202 million hours. That worked out to be an estimated economic value of $4.8 billion, according to the “Volunteering in America” November 2018 report.

You can submit a nomination through http://servewashington.wa.gov/ until 5 p.m., Feb. 8, 2019. You may nominate someone in the following categories:

Individual:

AmeriCorps alumnus
Animal welfare
Arts and culture
Citizen Corps/CERT volunteer
Disaster preparedness and response
Education
Environment
Health care
Human services
Public safety
Social services
Teen (13–18 years old)
Veteran
Youth (up to 12 years old)

National Service:

AmeriCorps member
VISTA volunteer
Senior Corps program participant

Group:

Employer-based program
Service group
Volunteer family