Monday, April 23, 2012

2012 Lt. Governor’s Volunteer Recognition and Awards Banquet


2012 Lt. Governor’s Volunteer Recognition and Awards Banquet
Judge Valdez to keynote event honoring 11 state volunteer award winners, including the Sister of St. Benedict

 SALT LAKE CITY- Lieutenant Governor Greg Bell and the Utah Commission on Volunteers will present eleven State Volunteer Service Awards and celebrate volunteer efforts throughout the state at the Lieutenant Governor’s Volunteer Recognition and Awards Banquet on April 25 at the Davis Conference Center. These awards, presented annually as part of the Lt. Governor’s Conference on Service, celebrate the extraordinary volunteer efforts of Utahns across the state.

The two most prestigious awards being the Lt. Governor’s Civic Volunteer of the Year Award and the Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The 2012 Lt. Governor’s Civic Volunteer of the Year Award will be presented to Lennie Don Porter, former Escalante City Mayor and long-time volunteer firefighter. Mr. Porter has met many needs in his community, through his involvement in civic affairs as well as in his capacity as a first-responder.

The 2012 Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to The Sister of the Order of St. Benedict. Sixty- six years ago, compassion for the sick and suffering brought the Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict to Ogden for the purpose of founding a hospital. When the hospital was sold, it brought an end to their sponsorship in the hospital, but the sisters were undeterred and their volunteer efforts have grown exponentially since then.

 “These honorees are a powerful force for good in our communities,” said Lt. Governor Greg Bell. “They are a shining example of the transformative power of service on those who serve as well as the communities around them.”

The Commission is pleased to have the banquet keynote speaker will be Judge Andrew Valdez, Third District Court Judge. Judge Valdez will be addressing the importance of volunteerism in Utah as well as in his personal life.

New to the Banquet this year is the Transforming Communities Recognition that will honor President Ann Millner and the Weber State University Community Involvement Center for their work in transforming the community in Northern Utah.

Media are encouraged to attend the evening’s activities: Private reception for honorees at 5:45pm in the Zephyr Room and the Banquet Program begins at 6:30pm in the Expo Center at Davis Conference Center.

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2012 Lt. Governor’s Conference on Service General Session

2012 Lt. Governor’s Conference on Service General Session
Tammi DeVille to keynote Conference Luncheon on Wednesday

SALT LAKE CITY- The Utah Commission on Volunteers will be hosting the Lt. Governor’s Conference on Service April 25 at the Davis Conference Center. The Conference is dedicated to improving volunteer management in Utah and attendees represent the nonprofit, government, faith-based, and corporate sectors.

Lt. Governor Greg Bell will kick off the 2012 Conference on Service, April 25th at 8:30 am.  Additional morning keynotes are Natalie Gochnour from the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce and Kaira Esgate with Reimagining Service.  Each will be speaking to the impact volunteers have in addressing community needs.

The general session day will be filled with over 30 workshops for the 600 attendees to choose from, each of which was chosen to represent the varying needs of conference attendees. Workshop topics are centered on volunteer management in Utah, the #1 state in the nation for volunteer rates.

Lt. Governor Bell and the Utah Commission on Volunteers are pleased to announce that the 2012 luncheon keynote speaker will be Tammi DeVille, author of Changing the World on a Tuesday Night. Her book focuses on people in the United States that are making a big difference in their communities, through small acts of service. DeVille will be highlighting some of the volunteer work done in Utah during her address and is scheduled to speak at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, April 25.

 “In keeping with the 2012 Conference on Service theme, Volunteerism: Changing Communities, we are thrilled to have a keynote that can speak to directly to the impact the volunteering has,” said Susan Hayward, Community Outreach Manager with the Utah Commission of Volunteers. “Tammi is uniquely able to highlight volunteer efforts in Utah, as well as those in her book, in a way that will appeal to all of our attendees.”

Media are encouraged to attend any of the conference’s events.  For more information, contact LaDawn Stoddard 801-815-3251

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Monday, April 2, 2012

The Commission on Volunteers Invites Youth to Participate in Utah’s 2012 Global Youth Service Day

The Commission on Volunteers Invites Youth to Participate in Utah’s 2012 Global Youth Service Day

Salt Lake City – From April 20-22, 2012, the Utah Commission on Volunteers will join with youth organizations throughout the state to encourage youth to participate in Global Youth Service Day (GYSD).

Established in 1988, Global Youth Service Day is the largest service event in the world and the only day of service dedicated to children and youth. It is an annual campaign to mobilize millions of children and youth globally and locally to improve their communities through service and volunteering.

“Engaging youth in volunteering creates a foundation of service that lasts a lifetime,” said Lt. Governor Greg Bell. “If we can get our young people to serve in their the communities now, Utah will continue to be a state filled with kind, charitable individuals prepared to serve and help others, well into the future.”

In 2011, there were over 38 service projects from Utah registered on the Global Youth Service Day website, www.gysd.org, which involved almost 1,500 youth. This year, the Utah Commission on Volunteers hopes to see an increase in those numbers. One of the participating organizations this year is The Utah Federation for Youth. Their service projects this year include Columbus Center After School youth participants painting murals at the Senior Citizen Center in South Salt Lake, SSL Youth City Council planting trees at Fitts Park, the Academy for Math Engineering, and Science hosting a dental care benefit event for low-income populations, and youth in South Salt Lake translating emergency informational materials from the Fire Department into other languages.

“Service should be the base of humanity. We all should be looking for what we can do for others, projects large and small are of equal importance and this experience for the youth is great," said DeBee Stidham, Utah Federation for Youth representative. “Involving youth in service through Global Youth Service Day, can be the start of something that will grow to become part of their lives.”

Planning is underway for youth-led projects that address challenging local, national and global issues such as environmental conservation, childhood hunger and civil rights. Examples of local projects planned for Global Youth Service Day 2012 include:

The Living Planet Aquarium: The Living Planet Aquarium has planned four unique service events that will be held April 20th  to 22nd that center on environmental cleanup and restoration. Projects will take place at the Jordan River, Wasatch Hollow, the Living Planet Aquarium and Hidden Hollow and hundreds of youth are expected to be involved. Contact Melissa @ (801) 495-4888 for more information.

Real Life in Salt Lake City: At Real Life in SLC, an afterschool youth mentoring program designed to help refugee youth become acculturated to life in Salt Lake City by forming friendships with Utah youth of the same age, refugee youth will assemble backpacks and write letters to new refugee youth that will be arriving in Salt Lake City in 2012. Contact Julia @ (801) 467-4417 for more information regarding this April 20th GYSD project.

Service to the World: Held on Saturday, April 21st from 11-2 PM at the BYU Wilkinson Student Center, Service to the World will be working with youth on projects that will ultimately be sent to a schools in Uganda. Projects include file folder games that teach colors, arithmetic, multiplication, division, shapes (lots of coloring), hand puppets, hygiene kits, blankets, hats, nutrition posters, and public health education posters and books. Contact Martina @ (801) 857-5969 for more information.

 To learn more about Utah’s 2012 Global Youth Service Dayvisit www.volunteers.utah.gov or contact Amanda McDonald, Utah Commission on Volunteers Program Specialist at 801.715.6717. For more information on Global Youth Service Day, visit www.gysd.org.

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