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The N.C. Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service is proud and excited to announce this year’s 20 recipients of the Governor’s Medallion Award for Volunteer Service.

Gov. Bev Perdue congratulated the recipients on their extraordinary efforts, and First Gentlemen Bob Eaves and Secretary Elaine Marshall presented the medallions and certificates in recognition for their service.

The medallion award ceremony is part of the Governor’s Volunteer Service Awards program, which honors individuals, groups, teams and businesses that make significant contributions to their communities through volunteer service. Recipients were nominated at the county level and evaluated by a panel of community service leaders from across the state.

The Volunteer Commission congratulates the winners and looks forward to next year’s award ceremony. 

To view this year’s Governor’s Medallion Award winners click here.

On Make A Difference Day volunteers all over the state sacrificed their time to make their community and state a better place.

Projects on Make a Difference Day, which fell on Oct. 23, included reading to children, painting classrooms, cleaning school grounds and collecting food for school children to take home.

For this national day of service and remembrance, the North Carolina Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service worked with 27 Local Education Agencies.
On this day of service, we had great participation from volunteers including the Office of the Governor’s regional directors: Budd Berro in the Piedmont, Juleigh Sitton in the west and Tate Johnson in the east.

At Hall Fletch Elementary School in Asheville, volunteers created a teaching garden that the students can learn from, and care for, year round.  At New Bern High School in New Bern, students volunteered at the local food bank loading trucks of food. At Shepherd Elementary School in Mooresville, nearly 508 students and 23 teachers participated in a land beautification project clearing debris from playgrounds, modifying a curb entrance for students with disabilities and building a butterfly garden.

This is just an example of what took place on Make A Difference Day and we are proud and grateful to all of the volunteers who participated and made this day a success.

To learn more about the Make A Difference Day projects that took place across our state please visit makeadifferenceday.nc.gov. 

One of the ways North Carolina is honoring 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance is a statewide food drive on Friday, Sept. 10, through Sunday, Sept. 12.

The food drive is part of the partnership that Gov. Bev Perdue announced between Volunteer NC and the NC Association of Feeding America Food Banks to help end hunger and honor this special day.

State employees play a vital role in this effort. The Governor is calling on all state employees to participate by donating non-perishable food, monetary donations, and volunteering your time.  With the potential for more than 90,000 state employees to participate, we can really make a difference toward ending hunger.

As a state employee, you receive 24 hours of paid community service leave.  We urge you to take advantage of this benefit by joining fellow North Carolinians in this national service effort.

On September 7, look for food barrels in your state agencies to start donating food.  The last day to donate food will be Monday, September 13 before noon.

For additional information to find your local food bank please visit www.911dayofservice.nc.gov.

National Volunteer Week is a signature event sponsored by the Points of Light Institute and the Hands On Network.  This year’s theme is “Celebrating People in Action,” honoring ordinary people doing extraordinary things to improve communities across the nation.

The N.C. Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service administers the AmeriCorps programs across the state to support community service and volunteer programs.   Starting April 18, 14 statewide AmeriCorps programs representing more than 500 members and volunteers will participate in various community service projects.  AmeriCorps members and volunteers will provide literacy services for children, assist in job preparation activities, feed the homeless and participate in other activities that address critical needs in the community. 

For National Volunteer Week, N.C. state employees have the opportunity to give back to their communities and the people of our state by engaging and supporting community service.  The state recognizes the need of volunteers to improve the quality of life for its citizens and encourages its approximately 90,000 employees to participate in service activities. The Commission encourages all state employees to use their 24 hours of community service leave each year.

Visit www.osp.state.nc.us/manuals/commserv.html for more information about community service benefits for North Carolina state employees.

Yesterday morning, the Governor visited the Raleigh Rescue Mission (RRM), and Executive Director Lynn Daniell gave the Governor a tour of the day-to-day operations of the Mission’s good work.  With Thanksgiving just a few days away, it was a humbling experience to hear the stories of the men, women and children who talked about how grateful they are to have shelter and food.

The Governor spoke to two women who are making great strides to overcome addiction.  One woman told of her one-year progress and shed a few tears of happiness.  Another woman asked the Governor for prayer and thoughts because she was approaching her third month of recovery.  She discussed the difficulties she faces every day, but she also was optimistic that she could beat the addiction and turn her life around.  Both women were grateful to have another chance at RRM.

The Governor visited the children’s development center and listened to the pre-schoolers of homeless mothers talk about what they were thankful for—one child was thankful for a brother and others were thankful for their mothers.  While the Governor listened to the children talk about their blessings and watched them make turkey hats, she saw hope in the eyes of the children and listened to their infectious laughter as they talked about Thanksgiving.

The Governor stopped to listen to every person she met along the tour of the facilities.  She heard their story and learned about their lives, both past and present.  She met a young lady with four children who is determined to complete nursing classes, and working with staff at RRM, it is obvious she will complete her classes and be gainfully employed.  She and the Governor talked about the example she is setting and how it encourages her older children to learn and study.

Then, we were outside where we met a gentleman from Bunn delivering a pickup truck load of collards and turnips.  He said he makes deliveries from his farm weekly to the RRM and that he enjoys giving back to the community and providing food to those in need.  The Governor called him an angel—she called many of the volunteers at the RRM angels.  And we met the guys cooking turkeys to serve on Thanksgiving—must have been 10 turkeys on each large cooker.

The RRM helps more than 6,000 homeless and near-homeless individuals per year (men, women and moms with children) and has a residential capacity per night of about 100 individuals.  About 62 percent of those served at RRM are women and children.  RRM depends very heavily on donations of food, clothing, miscellaneous supplies, medical supplies, etc., and of course, volunteers are needed to supplement the work of a great staff.

The governor has called on North Carolina’s most valuable resource, its people, to serve in their communities over the next 11 weeks as part of the United We Serve campaign launched by President and Mrs. Obama

On June 22, the governor announced her support for the national initiative and encouraged all North Carolinians to volunteer in some way.  The United We Serve campaign encourages citizens to better the lives of those around them and aims to make service a way of life for all Americans.

The N.C. Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service is the leading agency in the Governor’s Office in promoting people, communities and enterprises to grow North Carolina’s service opportunities.  The commission is committed to the campaign and to connecting North Carolinians with volunteer opportunities throughout the state by collaborating with local volunteer organizations and agencies.

Volunteering not only inspires those who are helped, but it inspires those who give as well.  No matter your age, there are many ways to support community needs, whether it is mentoring a child who needs encouragement and guidance, delivering food to the elderly, serving at a soup kitchen or cleaning up a community park.

Today, as you reflect on that person or situation that has made you who you are, think of how you can answer this call to service and make a difference.  I encourage you to go to the national Web site, www.serve.gov, and find an organization that you would like to give your time and energy.  Or, create your own volunteer project to undertake, register it at www.serve.gov and have your family, neighbors and co-workers sign up to support you.   The NC Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service would benefit from your service in the community by volunteering to support the Volunteer Center efforts.