2020 Forsyth County Governor's Volunteer Service Awards

Spring, 2020

2020 forsyth County governor’s V OL UNT EER SERVICE AWARDS

“Thank You” to our sponsors for their generous support of the Governor’s Awards.

PREMIER SPONSOR

LEAD SPONSOR

RECOGNITION SPONSORS ABC of NC - Jan Knox, Anna Rainey, & Casey Raymer - In Honor of Casey Capstick Karen Dorr Forsyth County Young Leaders Program Jean Pudlo Ronald McDonald House of Winston-Salem Susan Miller The Forsyth Tech Foundation The Horner Family Dara Waddell Marcia Wood - In Honor of Casey Capstick

2020 forsyth County governor’s VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARDS NOMINEES

Hesta Anderson

Kathy Kovack

Jean Ashley

Jim Matthews

Najashi ‘Shi’ Belcher

Julie Miller

Karen Bowen

Lacy ‘Ben’ Miller

Casey Capstick

Lea Nading

Jim Carros

Sara Ross

Ray & Lynn Clarke

Sarah Russell

Madeline Culver

Margaret Savoca

Elevation Church

Art & Ethel Schramm

Amanda Enloe

Speas Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

Bruce Gavett

Skip Tussey

Peggy Golden

Emily Tyree

Kate Hanson

Leila Warren

Sarina Horner

Michelle Wolfe

Al Jones

2020 governor’s

VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARDS WINNERS (In alphabetical order by category)

Jim Matthews - Animals

Over the course of the five plus years that Jim Matthews has been volunteering with Riverwood Therapeutic Riding Center, he has become more than a volunteer. Through his commitment and dedication to Riverwood's mission and his genuine and caring spirit, Jim has worked his way into the hearts of the Riverwood staff, students, horses, and other volunteers who now see him as family. Between always being willing to fill in last minute if a class is short a volunteer, to coming in to help with the dirty work of cleaning the barn, Jim goes far and above what is typically expected. His handyman skills and can-do attitude result in the daily fixing of equipment as well as creation of new inventions that allow Riverwood's staff and horses to better serve students. He even took the lead in the creation of an annual Staff Appreciation Luncheon in order for them to feel the same love and appreciation he feels as a volunteer. This support of Riverwood's staff can also be seen in his presence as they have had to make the most difficult decisions of all—his holding of their hands as they walk their most beloved equine partners over the Rainbow Bridge is a reflection of his empathy and sincere tenderness of heart. “Family members” like Jim are truly rare!

Hesta Anderson - Cultural Books matter. And the volunteers that want to connect their neighbors to books matter even more. For more than a decade, Hesta Anderson has been a driving force for the Friends of Reynolda Manor Library. Averaging more than 20 hours per week, every week, Hesta’s labors and sheer enthusiasm has helped to build the library’s Ongoing Book Sale to the success that it is today. Currently, the sale generates over $8,000 in profits each year—money that goes toward buying new books that can be checked out by library patrons, improvements to the library facilities, and the library’s children’s programming. The changes she has brought to the library over her decade of service are significant, but the changes that Hesta herself has gone through are dramatic as well. From the loss of her husband to overcoming significant physical challenges, Hesta has remained steadfast in her commitment to serving the library.

Amanda Enloe - Disaster

Few people are able to say that they save lives during their retirement years, but Amanda Enloe does exactly that. She joined the Red Cross in September of 2017 as a member of a local Disaster Action Team (DAT), responding to house fires and storms that displaced families. Because of her leadership skills, she quickly moved to DAT Supervisor and commanded a team of her own. Amanda supervises a team that recruits and alerts trained volunteers that are needed to assist in large disasters such as flooding in Louisiana or wild fires in California. She has the perspective and know-how that allow her to stay organized under pressure while also demonstrating compassion to all those who have been displaced through storms or fire. However, the job that may have had the greatest impact on making Forsyth County a safer community is the work Amanda has done around the Red Cross smoke alarm installation program. She was involved in three drives over this past fiscal year, organizing teams and working with local fire departments. Her efforts have led to 350 smoke alarms being installed, making 132 homes safer in the county. We know the value of this program since an alarm installed in 2014 saved a life in Winston-Salem in January of 2019.

Bruce Gavett - Environment Bruce Gavett has been volunteering with Kaleideum's (formerly SciWorks) Planetarium for the last 10 years and never fails to go above and beyond what is asked of him. He is constantly finding ways to make school group visits extra special by developing his own science demonstrations and even coming up with new marketing strategies which will inspire the community to learn about science. Bruce’s knowledge of astronomy is “stellar,” as he can answer almost any question, inspiring the young audiences that come to visit. One of the most common questions he receives is, "Are you an astronaut Mr. Bruce?" He humbly says no, but encourages them to always seek answers to their questions, and to ask the hard ones. Even on slow days he can be found engaging others, talking up new shows and demonstrations, or writing website descriptions of exhibits to ensure there is an appeal to a wider audience. To Kaleideum and its visitors, Bruce is truly a volunteer who is “out of this world!”

Elevation Church - Faith-Based “Many hands make light work” is a familiar saying and one that the SECU Family House uses to describe volunteers from Elevation Church. By providing essential practical support through meals and house cleaning, the Church’s volunteers have also demonstrated the hospitality, compassion, and emotional support that is critical for the Family House to provide a safe and affordable place to stay for adult patients and their caregivers who come to Winston-Salem for medical treatment. This past year, Elevation Church volunteers shopped for, prepared and served 13 meals for 50 Family House guests. This is no easy task and, at the SECU Family House, meals are more than just food—they serve as a time for guests to get to know one another, share stories, and form friendships at difficult times when support is crucial. Elevation Church also included the Family House in their “Love Week” of service, showering staff and guests with love by baking cookies, serving meals, and tackling a long list of cleaning tasks. Acts of service like this not only provide savings that can be passed along to guests, but helps the staff and guests alike feel loved.

The Clarkes - Family If there is a family more dedicated to children and education than Dr. Ray and Lynn Clarke, the folks at The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs would love to meet them! The Clarkes volunteer there every week, providing tutoring services in a program that THEY developed and funded. Their work has been vital in improving the reading skills of Club members and preventing summer learning loss through time spent at summer camps offered by the organization. Talk about putting your money where your passion is, they did their own fundraiser among friends to pay for tutors and a Leader for The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs’ first summer enrichment program. This program helped many children prevent a summer learning loss, preparing them well for the upcoming school year. The Clarkes raised well over $12,000 and are on their way to raising funds to run this enrichment program for a second summer. In addition to the hundreds of hours of service they devote to the Boys & Girls Clubs, the Clarkes can also be found volunteering multiple times a week at Cook Literacy Model School, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the YMCA. Dr. Clarke says, “Some people have the Taj Mahal on their bucket list. I want to change the life of one child.”

Speas Parent Teacher Association (PTA) - Group/Team Speas Global Elementary is a Title I school that has seen explosive growth over the past four years, nearly doubling in enrollment over that time frame. Yet, despite the challenges presented by these facts, test scores are rising. Why? Because of the impact of Speas’ PTA. More than 140 members strong, PTA members come together to provide a wide variety of services and learning experiences for the school community and its students. While they perform the traditional PTA function of raising money—more than $20,000 in the past year—it is the wide variety of the more than 1,600 hours of service given each year that makes the group stand out. For example, members have started a cafeteria compost program in partnership with a local family farm that has diverted more than 10,000 pounds of cafeteria food waste from the local landfill since May 2019—the first school in the district to participate in what is now a statewide program. Other members have leveraged corporate connections to spearhead the installation of not one, but TWO, new playgrounds—totally free of charge to the school. The PTA also organizes a wide variety of spirit and family nights that not only raise money, but provide opportunities for the school community to come together and build social capital. The volunteers also come together to provide direct classroom support for teachers and provide tours for prospective new families—all of which signal that the PTA truly feels as though Speas is “their” school.

Kathy Kovack - Health & Human Services Volunteers fulfill many important roles within an organization. Kathy is no different, except for the fact that she fills multiple roles at once! In addition to being the Clemmons Food Pantry’s volunteer Executive Director, she is also the volunteer truck driver, volunteer coordinator, and volunteer operations manager. In the midst of all the daily food pantry duties, the Clemmons Food Pantry is building a new Center of Harvest that will provide a larger food storage and distribution facility with additional space to join with community partners and offer educational opportunities for clients. Kathy serves as the volunteer head of the building committee for this project, all while simultaneously serving on the operations, finance, marketing, fundraising, and programs committees to keep all things moving toward the greater good of the Pantry.

Essentially, she is a one-woman force to be reckoned with as she keeps “all things pantry” afloat. According to her nominator, “If she demanded a salary, we could not afford her!”

Jim Carros - Individual

Jim Carros demonstrates an outstanding commitment to being a Big Brother and is an overall champion for Big Brothers Big Sisters. He has been successfully matched with his Little Brother since August of 2015 and has been a consistent, dependable, and positive influence for him ever since. Jim wanted to become a mentor due to the fact that he has overcome language, cultural, and socioeconomic barriers. He also lost his father when he was a young boy, forcing him to learn a lot of life’s lessons the hard way. Jim stated, “If I can pass along some knowledge that I gained to help someone else on their path, then I’m happy to do it.” Jim has been a lead member of the Bigs Council, meeting monthly with other mentors to discuss ways to support the agency and other volunteers, and is eager to participate in the Bowl for Kids’ Sake fundraiser each year. He is also involved with trainings for new volunteers and, since Big Brothers Big Sisters moved into their new mentoring center in June of 2019, he has even been involved with brainstorming ways to utilize the lower level to better serve the children in the program. Along with all of these contributions, Jim is also a valued donor. In 2019, he supported Big Brothers Big Sisters financially by contributing $4,100. The agency finished out a capital campaign in 2019 and Jim pledged $20,000 over the next five years-- $2,000 every year with a $2,000 matching amount from Reynolds American. Another thing that the staff appreciates about Jim is how he is always brainstorming ways to spread the mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters to recruit new volunteers, share stories about the agency, and help fundraise. Overall, Jim’s service to Big Brothers Big Sisters has served the needs of the community because he is an encourager. Not only does he encourage his Little Brother daily, he also encourages the people around him, and even people he doesn’t know. Everyone needs encouragement and Jim provides the enthusiasm and honesty we all need from time to time.

Leila Warren - Lifetime Achievement Anyone who is involved in animal welfare in Forsyth County knows that Leila Warren has been at its forefront for decades. While she has devoted her entire life to lovingly caring for beings with fur and feathers, she took things several steps further for dogs and cats in 1995. This is when she co-founded the Animal Rescue and Adoption Foundation (AARF) as a means of rescuing, fostering, and finding homes for the dogs and cats that could not be accommodated by the local animal shelter and Humane Society. After serving as president of AARF for five years, it became clear that there was a missing component to the local animal welfare puzzle. After all, innocent dogs and cats were still being euthanized and there were not enough homes to go around. Thus, in 1999, the Humane Solution Spay-Neuter Program was born in order to make affordable spay/neuter surgeries available to low-income pet owners. Since then, Leila has worked tirelessly to end euthanasia as a means to control pet overpopulation by making spay and neuter surgeries affordable to our neighbors in need. She has dedicated vast amounts of time to to address this very complex issue. In fact, she has dedicated nearly all of her lunch breaks, evenings, and weekends to all things Humane Solution, vetting almost every application for assistance and personally mailing out almost every one of the vouchers the organization has issued. Helping people and animals is what drives Leila. This past year she even spearheaded a new Feral Cat Program. In January of 2019 she was able to bring the NCSU Veterinary College to Forsyth County with their mobile surgical unit to spay or neuter over 50 feral cats over a weekend. Leila has spent even more of her time extending Humane Solution’s community outreach and education programs. She was behind the push to make more special ten-dollar very low-income vouchers available to those whose need is greatest by holding outreach events in those neighborhoods, making travel less of an obstacle. She never forgets that spay/neuter is the only permanent, 100 percent effective way to prevent these innocent animals from being euthanized. Leila lives that philosophy every day through her seemingly endless service to people and animals.

Casey Capstick - National Service As an AmeriCorps VISTA member, Casey lives off of a monthly stipend that is proportional to the poverty level in the community in which she serves—literally earning a “poverty wage.” Despite that financial hurdle, she has, over the past year, consistently demonstrated her passion for service, proving to be an invaluable asset to the team at ABC of NC. Casey has taken on a wide range of responsibilities essential to the operation of the organization, including helping to manage ABC of NC’s social media accounts, conducting in-depth research for grants, and assisting with fundraising events and initiatives. Specifically, she overhauled the agency’s social media calendars, planning and implementing hundreds of optimal posts for the 2019–2020 academic year while remaining mindful of the need for replication/sustainability for future years. She also helped compile information for a Cannon Foundation grant and assisted with a pending application for a grant administered by The Duke Endowment, for which she found and evaluated hundreds of scholarly articles, indexing and compiling about 35 targeted articles imperative to the application. Furthermore, she assisted with plans and implementation for ABC of NC’s largest annual fundraiser, the Gourmet Lunchbox Lunch, working before and after business hours to assist with intensive event needs. Casey has, without a doubt, built the capacity of ABC of NC for years to come.

Madeline Culver - Perseverance in Volunteerism

Some people were born to serve, and Madeline Culver is one of those people. After retiring from her work as a Charge Nurse in 2011, she decided to dedicate her golden years to what she does best—helping others! Madeline now volunteers two to three days a week with Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina. She enjoys sorting donations that allow Second Harvest’s many partner agencies to have nutritious food and other necessities to distribute to her neighbors in need throughout the communities served. She has continued to faithfully volunteer despite health challenges that would keep most away. Considering the fact that Second Harvest distributes approximately forty tons of food per day, it takes a whole lot to deter Madeline! In addition to her work with Second Harvest, Madeline also volunteers with Crisis Control Ministry each week doing poverty simulations that expose participants to the realities of poverty, such as navigating the complex world of government services and other essential providers. Madeline knows her work is vital to these organizations and to the community, and she shows no signs of slowing down any time soon!

Lacy ‘Ben’ Miller- Senior Some communities have a special “pillar” or fixture within them. For Sedge Garden Elementary, the pillar of the community is clear. Mr. Ben (as the students call him) has been coming to the Garden along with his service dog, Felipe for about four years. From greeting students at the door each morning, walking them to class, attending all special events during and after school, and everything in between, there isn’t a day that goes by that Mr. Ben isn’t present. He visits classrooms daily to read to students and pulls aside those that are in need of extra help with word recognition, sight words, and spelling. Even after losing Felipe, his service dog and best friend, to cancer this past October, he has not missed a day at the school. The special bond he has with each student causes them to light up as soon as they see him. If a student is having a bad day, Mr. Ben has a special way of calming them down and getting them back on track. This past December, he even took on the important role of Santa Claus for the Exceptional Children's classes while his wife dressed up as Mrs. Claus. He and Mrs. Claus sang songs with them, passed out gifts, and took all the time they needed to make it a special day for the students. Mr. Ben’s nominator says, “It's for sure that hearts just don't come any bigger than his. We are truly blessed with his presence here and all that he brings to each of us. We are so fortunate to have him here with us at the Garden and don't know what we would do without him!”

Najashi ‘Shi’ Belcher - Serving Youth Shi has grown up with Crosby Scholars, as he has been enrolled in the program since he was in the sixth grade. Now a senior at Walkertown High School, he has been an officer for the last two years, always going above and beyond his call of service. Whenever an opportunity presents itself, he is usually one of the first students to respond and is always willing to assist. This year in particular, he sacrificed time “typical” teenagers would reserve for socializing with friends to educate others about Crosby Scholars. He also worked with the school liaison to increase African American male enrollment in 9th and 10th grades at Walkertown. Together they pulled students out of class individually, explaining the program and encouraging them to apply. Shi was also featured in the Crosby Scholars recruitment photoshoot two years in a row and was one of the first students to respond when asked to be featured in a recruitment video. Shi has also volunteered for numerous Crosby Scholars academy sessions, waking up early on Saturday mornings to lead the younger Crosby Scholars.

He even notified the staff and students of a service opportunity at the end of the summer, the Minority Business Expo, as he was involved and didn’t want Crosby Scholars to miss out. In addition to this initiative and leadership skills, Shi is also pleasant company and a wonderful conversationalist. His nominator says, “We are honored to have a student as special as Shi in the program. He is the best!”

Sarina Horner - Youth

Just reading about all that Sarina Horner has accomplished in her 15 years on earth is enough to make any adult tired.

Seeing her in action, up close and personal, will take your breath away. A sophomore in high school, Sarina has spent years championing the importance of service to one’s community. Together with her older sister, she started an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit—the Forsyth County Young Leaders Program—to address disparities in social mobility across Forsyth County. Each year, the program connects its members to community leaders that share similar interests who act as mentors and help guide their civic activism. Through the FCYLP, Sarina established the If Not You, Who? Award, which promotes and recognizes volunteer efforts by high school students. Award winners receive $250 to give to the charity of their choice—a way to recognize the work of her civically-minded peers in the way that many awards recognize sports or academic achievements. Within her high school, Sarina serves as the president of the Forsyth Backpack Program Club, helping to organize fundraisers that allowed an entire middle school to come together to fill backpacks with food. Just a few weeks ago, Sarina celebrated a big win when she took on City Hall, and won! Her efforts in lobbying the Winston-Salem Transit Authority to suspend its rule that limits passengers to two grocery bags per trip will make a big difference in allowing low-income bus riders to accomplish the same kind of family grocery store runs we all enjoy. Lastly, even as the pandemic impacted her school schedule and we all started to socially distance, Sarina and the FCYLP has continued to work with partners at HandsOn NWNC and Wake Forest University to submit a proposal for a highly competitive, nationwide grant program that would support further efforts to engage, support, and incentivize high school students to serve more in Forsyth County well into the future.

THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE A WARD The People’s Choice Award is voted upon by members of the public through a portal on The Winston-Salem Journal’s website after reviewing brief profiles of all of our nominees. This process is separate and different from the category winner selection process. Many thanks to the hundreds of our neighbors who voted! For the second time ever, the winner of the People’s Choice Award was also a category winner, Lacy ‘Ben’ Miller.

the president’s volunteer serviCe aWard The President's Council on Service and Civic Participation (the Council) was established in 2003 to recognize the valuable contributions volunteers are making in our communities and to encourage more people to serve. The Council created the President’s Volunteer Service Award program as a way to thank and honor Americans who, by their demonstrated commitment and example, inspire others to engage in volunteer service. The program continues as an initiative of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), recognizes United States citizens and lawful permanent residents of the United States who have achieved the required number of hours of service over a 12month time period. Congratulations to the following Governor’s Awards nominees who have also received one of these national awards.

Gold: Hesta Anderson, Karen Bowen, Elevation Church, Amanda Enloe, Bruce Gavett, Sarina Horner, Kathy Kovack, Jim Matthews, Lacy 'Ben' Miller, Margaret Savoca, Speas Parent Teacher Association (PTA), The Clarkes, Leila Warren, Michelle Wolfe Silver: Madeline Culver, Peggy Golden, Al Jones, Julie Miller, Lea Nading, Sara Ross, The Schramms, Skip Tussey Bronze: Jean Ashley, Jim Carros, Sarah Russell

THE CHUCK KRAFT SCHOLARSHIP The Chuck Kraft Scholarship was created to acknowledge the first board chair of HandsOn Northwest North Carolina for his leadership during the establishment of the organization, and for his dedication and service to children and youth throughout his career with nonprofits. In appreciation of his exemplary work, HandsOn Northwest North Carolina is pleased to present the Chuck Kraft Scholarship to a staff or board member currently serving a children and/or youth focused nonprofit in Forsyth, Davie, Davidson, Stokes, Surry or Yadkin County. The recipient will be able to attend the Nonprofit Essentials Certificate Program, Project Blueprint, Volunteer Management Training Series, or Women’s Emerging Leaders Program tuition-free.

This year’s recipient is Kelly Hill of World Relief Triad. World Relief Triad’s mission is to empower the local church to serve the most vulnerable. Some of their key programs include refugee resettlement and anti-human trafficking.

2020 governor’s VOLUNTEER S ERVICE AWA RDS WINNERS SELECTION C OMMITTEE A special “thank you” to our volunteer selection committee for their attentive and thoughtful consideration of the nominations to determine each of our category winners.

Jeff Albert Katherine Caster Jennifer Cobb Sharee Fowler

Tahja Gaymon

Betty Maine

Leigh Schumacher

Tamisha Keith

Iffat Maqsood

Christina Stewart

Debbie Linville

Torry Reynolds

Shannon Stokes

Dianne Lytle

Renee Rogers

Meridith Whitaker

Thank you to Steve Bird for his donation of graphic design expertise. A special thanks to Tahja Gaymon, Director of Community Engagement at United Way of Forsyth County and Sharee Fowler, Assistant Professor, Not-For-Profit Management and Director, Arts Management and Not-for-Profit Management Programs at Salem College for helping to organize and coordinate the awards; and the following Salem College students who volunteered their time and talents to create the social media images and edit the virtual acceptance speeches that served as the driving force behind this year’s new way of celebrating our nominees and category winners: Cailey Neuschaefer, Nina Porter, and Bailey Zenker.

To learn more about Salem College’s academic programs, visit www.salem.edu.

The mission of HandsOn Northwest North Carolina is to mobilize people and organizations that inspire community change. To learn more about HandsOn Northwest North Carolina and our services, To learn more about HandsOn Northwest North Carolina and their services, scan the QR Code or visit www.HandsOnNWNC.org