2022 Forsyth County Governor's Volunteer Service Awards

Salem College April 26, 2022

Presenting Sponsors

2022 forsyth County governor’s VOL UN T EER SERVIC E AWAR DS

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

Premier Sponsor

Lead Sponsor HandsOn NWNC's Board of Directors Supporting Sponsors

Table Sponsors Blanco Tackabery SECU Family House Winston-Salem Foundation Wake Forest University Office of Civic & Community Engagement Ronald McDonald House Charities Piedmont Triad

22 FORSYTH COUNTY GOVERNOR’S

VOL UNT EER SERVICE AWARDS BR EAKFAS T CALL TO ORDER Torry Reynolds, Board Chair, HandsOn Northwest North Carolina INTRODUCTIONS Amy Lytle, Executive Director, HandsOn Northwest North Carolina SPONSOR REMARKS Renee Rohrer,

WELCOME Daniel Prosterman, Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs and Dean of the College at Salem College EMCEE – AWARDS PRESENTATION Kenneth A. Pettigrew, CLOSING COMMENTS/ADJOURNMENT Mark Uren, Vice President of Resource Development, United Way of Forsyth County

Kenneth A. Pettigrew

Speaker and community organizer, Kenneth A. Pettigrew is a native of Winston-Salem, NC and an emerging voice in progressive Christianity. He has served as pastor of the Shouse Temple CME Church and currently serves on the staff of the St. John CME Church. In 2015, Kenneth joined the United Way of Forsyth County as the first Coordinator of Faith-Based Community Engagement and as staff for the Place Matters Initiative -an innovative, place-based process centered on the work of asset-based community development. In July 2018, Kenneth joined the Winston-Salem Urban League as Chief Operating Officer, supporting the organization's internal operations and programming. Kenneth is also the founder of Sanctuary Consulting, LLC-a firm dedicated to empowering faith communities in transformational community engagement. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and a Master of Divinity from the Wake Forest University School of Divinity.

2022 forsyth County governor’s VO LUNTEER SERVICE AWARDS NOMINEES

Dinah Ashcraft

Tiffany Parms

Teresa Hampton, Keith Fowler and

Sara Quandt

Anne Morehead Daniel Rock Peter Jennings David Roddick Ethan-Sharman B. King Stan Shuman Sue Ann Langfitt Dollie Jo Steelman Ashley Silva Martinez Cindy Bay Wall Karla Mounts Camry Wilborn-Mercer Luis Nixon

2022 governor’s

VO LUNTEER SERVICE AWARDS WINNERS (In alphabetical order by category)

Dollie Jo Steelman - Animals

‘Service to God, and helping others is her steadfast, but unspoken, calling” is how Dollie Jo Steelman’s nominator describes her. Within the past year, she has helped over 40 people with disabilities feel the freedom of riding a horse at Riverwood Therapeutic Riding Center. A retired nurse, this accomplishment only touches the surface of Dollie Jo’s commitment to her community. While volunteering weekends to help take care of the horses at Riverwood, she assisted with other events, supported the riders, and even cleaned manure off the trails. Always ready to help, Dollie Jo knows just how to ensure each rider and horse have an amazing lesson and that they feel safe, supported, and loved. At the start of the pandemic, she also made sure her community was safe by making masks to sell at a local store in support of Riverwood.

No stranger to volunteer service, Dollie Jo has participated in more than ten mission trips with Operation Smile, working as a part of an international team providing corrective surgery to children with acute facial deformities. She has also volunteered at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, Samaritan Ministries, and at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds clinic during covid.

Ethan-Sharman B. King - Cultural Ethan-Sharman B. King is an advocate, servant-leader, and activist for low income families and marginalized businesses in Winston-Salem. Focusing on high-risk youth, he began a free after school program called “SURGE” that “mentors scholars and creates leaders.” In December 2021, SURGE graduated its first group of scholars, with each student having to complete 150 hours of community service. Ethan works with the students to instill a culturally-appropriate sense of pride and knowledge of history, and firmly believes, "If they are treated like royalty, they will act like royalty.” Ethan worked with one senior in the program with his college application–not only was the student accepted, he received a full scholarship and is the first in his family to attend college. Ethan also helped another student who was very much at-risk make Honor Roll instead. During COVID, he led a community hygiene drive that provided over 300 families with soap, shampoo, deodorant, and other necessities. Ethan represents the true definition of leadership and his passion for seeing others grow and flourish is inspirational.

Camry Wilborn Mercer - Director of Volunteers

As the Assistant Director of Community Partnerships in the Office of Civic & Community Engagement (OCCE) at Wake Forest University (WFU,) Camry Wilborn-Mercer has tackled the challenges of a pandemic while finding the time to serve her community—all while showing significant leadership, innovation, and grace under pressure. In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, Camry established a virtual tutoring and mentoring program to assist children in Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools. This program has continued to grow and is now a core part of the work of OCCE. She further developed a training program for WFU student volunteers, identifying a way to make it accessible to all tutors, including culturally responsive tutoring methods, risk management, and promising tutoring practices. In 2020-2021, 425 WFU student tutors logged 6,815 hours in tutoring sessions, working with 382 children in 68 schools. Forty-three percent of the tutees were enrolled in Title I schools. This year to date, approximately 200 WFU students have logged just under 4,000 hours. Camry has worked extensively with other community groups to help them find creative ways to continue their missions. For example, she helped Wake Academy develop 500 educational STEM and arts kits, which were delivered to Cook Literacy Model School and Kimberly Park Elementary School. She also served as the site coordinator for the Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School at WFU during the summer. The impact of Camry’s amazing work at mobilizing and engaging volunteers is felt throughout the community.

Dinah Ashcraft - Disaster Dinah Ashcraft is always ready to help Whole Man Ministries in whatever capacity needed. Whole Man Ministries is a grassroots nonprofit whose mission is to contribute to the “holistic” development of people, including body, mind, and spirit. During the disaster of the pandemic, Dinah worked with Whole Man Ministries to share accurate information and resources around COVID and the vaccine with her community. Whether assisting her neighbors who are in need of food or clothing, or the elderly with their medication, she is always there to help. As the volunteer responsible for interior maintenance, Dinah has also worked diligently to make sure the facility is as sanitary as possible, a responsibility that was heightened during the pandemic. Dinah believes that volunteer work is a priority, never a chore, and that sitting on the sidelines is not an option. She remains a fearless, motivated, and positive role model for others around her.

Luis Nixon - Faith-Based Entity

Luis Nixon is passionate about helping and serving others and served the homeless, AIDS victims, and addicts for many years in the Spanish Harlem area in New York City before arriving in Winston-Salem. Once here, he decided to bring that long-term experience to bear as a volunteer with City With Dwellings, which works to end the crisis of homelessness in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County by providing a unique platform for volunteers across the community to connect and build relationships with individuals who are experiencing homelessness. Since he began volunteering with them, Luis has served in several different roles, including providing oversight for the Mail Room and Hospitality areas for their Community First Center three days a week. He lightens the burden of staff by ensuring the mail room is organized and run efficiently; that coffee is freshly made every morning for guests; that transportation is provided between the Center and other locations (i.e. shelters, hospitals, shops;) and that City With Dwellings is connected to other community service providers in ways that enhances their mission. In addition to his service for City With Dwellings, Luis volunteers regularly at The Dwelling, Catholic Charities, and Project Wellness. Luis is committed to serving the underserved, marginalized, and disabled communities by quietly fulfilling his volunteer duties without ever seeking recognition–which is why he was nominated for this award.

Teresa Hampton, Keith Fowler,,and Anne Morehead - Group/Team Teresa Hampton, Keith Fowler, and Anne Morehead are a powerhouse volunteer team for the SECU Family House, which provides compassionate, comfortable hospitality to those traveling to Winston-Salem for medical care. Together, they have served a combined 269 hours in 2021 as the lead data management team, assisting with data collection and input that helps the Family House understand and demonstrate their impact, evaluate the quality of their services, and point out where adjustments might be needed. This information is then shared with funders and used in community outreach marketing and other opportunities. Teresa has been serving the Family house for 10 years, and Keith and Anne joined her team 6 years ago. They do this important work behind the scenes, quietly making a huge difference, one line of data entry at a time!

Sara Quandt - Health & Human Services Since 2017, Sara Quandt has volunteered with the SECU Family House by bringing delicious homemade dishes as part of their Merry Meal Potlucks every other week. These potlucks provide a nourishing home-cooked meal for Family House guests and remind them that our community is cheering them on as their loved ones face a health crisis. In 2021, Sara volunteered a total of 141 hours, and stepped up to serve as the new Merry Meal Potluck coordinator, in addition to her previous roles as dinner host and kitchen volunteer. As the coordinator of the Merry Meal Potlucks, Sara worked behind the scenes to plan and organize menus and communicate regularly with the dozens of other volunteers who provided dishes, and on her potluck days, Sara served as a dinner host -- arriving early, bringing her own dishes, making sure that everything was organized, and preparing the kitchen so that everything was ready to serve the guests with a smile! As a weekly kitchen volunteer, Sara rolled up her sleeves to take on tasks that many volunteers would rather not do, including regularly clearing out the Family House’s four refrigerators!

Karla Mounts - Latino

After identifying a need in the community to empower Hispanic students to pursue their dreams and realize their full potential, Karla Mounts started Soy Emprendedor in 2019, which is the first entrepreneur program to cater to LatinX students in Winston-Salem. Their mission is to inspire students and help them discover their creative, curious and entrepreneurial mindset. Despite finding success as a design and communications professional for a large corporation, Karla walked away from that career to focus exclusively on Soy Emprendedor so that she could more fully transform the lives of her students. Through creativity and hard work, Karla has been able to build innovative partnerships with local organizations including Venture Cafe, Innovation Quarter, the school system, and the YMCA. Soy Emprendedor’s program, which includes a multi-week entrepreneurship training that teaches students how to formulate a business idea and develop a business plan, requires students to pitch their ideas to a panel of business and community leaders, Shark Tank-style. The students with the best ideas are selected to receive monetary rewards and internship opportunities. The program further leverages mentoring and personal coaching to help students develop and grow. Karla is passionate about this initiative because she believes in the power of showing Hispanic students what they are capable of and the limitless nature of their dreams and aspirations.

David Roddick - Lifetime Achievement Tenacity is the stuff outstanding volunteers are made of and David Roddick is no exception. David founded Agape Ministries in 1975 and volunteered in this ministry while working for approximately 39 years in a variety of roles at Reynolda Presbyterian Church, Consumer Credit Counseling, and Ways to Work, a transportation program. He began volunteering with United Way of Davie County in hopes of bringing the Ways to Work program to the area for the first time. Shortly after realizing the program would not be expanding beyond Forsyth County, David retired from his full-time job and spent over 20 hours a week building a car ownership nonprofit program from scratch that would serve creditchallenged adults who were typically disqualified from receiving car loans with reasonable interest rates. After encountering many “roadblocks” that would have easily deterred others, The CARes Project was ready to roll! The program not only assists people with obtaining low interest vehicle loans, it helps participants learn car care basics, assists them in finding a good used car with a warranty, and provides a financial coach to help them create a budget---all with the goal of increasing financial security by ensuring they have reliable transportation to good paying jobs.

Tiffany Parms - Marginalized Populations Tiffany Parms has dedicated the past six years of her career to serving in several capacities at LEAD Girls of North Carolina, which is dedicated to providing the tools and resources that low-income/at-risk preteen girls must have to become productive citizens and active leaders in their communities. Tiffany is their longest serving board member; as Board Chair, she revamped the board’s structure and helped them create important policies. This past year, she served as Treasurer and Chair of the Research and Evaluation Committee, which included leading the research and analysis for a transition plan for ongoing and pilot programs. Additionally, Tiffany initiated and facilitated a partnership with RJ Reynolds in support of Right Decisions Right Now: Be Tobacco Free, a youth tobacco prevention program. She holds a fundraiser for her birthday each year to help raise funds for LEAD Girls. Even with her commitment to LEAD Girls, Tiffany serves in other ways as well: by being on the Board of Directors of Fellowship Home, which supports individuals in recovery; on the executive committee for the United Way of Forsyth County and participating in their Days of Caring; and financially supporting many other organizations, such as Bethesda Center. Tiffany’s outstanding efforts have been instrumental in developing the ever-growing future of LEAD Girls of North Carolina.

Peter Jennings - Senior

Peter Jennings is the type of volunteer you would like to clone. He began volunteering with The Shepherd's Center of Greater Winston-Salem in 2018 as a visitation and respite volunteer and has always gone the extra mile to check on those he serves, even when he wasn’t scheduled. He expanded his support by beginning to attend the Center’s events, including their "Thinking Outside the Box" discussion groups where he emerged as a natural leader and facilitator while providing a safe, open, and diverse space for seniors to discuss challenging topics. Peter’s leadership and dedication to these discussions extends far beyond his own views, and he has grown the groups despite the challenges of COVID-19 – first by moving to virtual meetings, then creating hybrid opportunities, and now offering two separate sessions, one via Zoom and one in-person, to keep participants engaged. Peter treats everyone with kindness, respect, and dignity, and, in so doing, epitomizes Shepherd Center’s mission of promoting and supporting successful aging.

Cindy Bay Wall - Serving Youth Volunteers are generous people and Cindy Bay Wall is no exception. Cindy has dedicated countless volunteer hours to The Centers for Exceptional Children (CFEC) including serving as a board member and as Board Chair for the last six years. When the Centers were unable to have volunteers in the classrooms for the majority of 2021 due to the pandemic, Cindy was anxious to connect with the students and was one of the first people to volunteer as a virtual storyteller for the annual Read Across America Day. Along with her husband, Earl– who dressed in full costume–Cindy videoed Earl reading The Cat in The Hat book. The video was so realistic, the children thought The Cat in The Hat had visited her in person! When restrictions eased in the spring and the CFEC was able to host their very first outdoor Superhero Day event, Cindy rearranged her schedule to ensure she and her husband could attend and instead of wearing the stereotypical cape and mask, she and Earl dressed as a doctor and soldier, allowing the children to see that essential workers and our military members are the real superheroes. In addition to supporting these special events, Cindy often calls or stops by with donations of clothing, toys, and supplies for the students and classrooms; has participated in the Holiday Helper program; co-hosted a virtual table at the Unfolding Possibilities Event in May; sponsored a team during the Annual CFEC Golf Tournament; and, donated fruit, soda, water, and sports drinks for the approximately 200 golfers, staff members, and volunteers that participated. CFEC knows that If something is needed, Cindy will get it done!

Stan Shuman - Veteran/Military Stan Shuman, better known as "The Cake Man," is a dedicated military veteran volunteering with Trellis Supportive Care.

He provides regular service as part of their Plentiful Plates grocery service program, which has him shopping, packaging, and delivering groceries and nutritional supplements to the homes of patients monthly. Stan received his honorable name "The Cake Man" through his baking efforts where he dedicates Friday mornings to serving cakes, cookies and other sweet treats. Stan's friendliness and passionate heart is greatly appreciated by the families and clients at Trellis.

Ashley Silva Martinez - Youth In a short time, Ashley Silva Martinez has played many roles and worn several hats at Virtual & in-Person (ViP) Tutoring and Peer Guides Program, which engages high school students in “near–peer” tutoring and mentoring matches. First recruited when she was a student at the Early College of Forsyth Tech, Ashley became part of ViP’s “pilot team,” and then was quickly promoted to a leadership role. During a time when she herself was facing unprecedented challenges as a student, she stepped up to assist others struggling with remote learning. Currently, Ashley leads ViP’s Hispanic Outreach Division, which requires her to translate conversations and documents from English to Spanish to accommodate families that may not be fluent in English. Ashley has even translated dialogue “live” between a member of the organization, two students, and three non-English speaking adults over Zoom! After a year with ViP, she joined the Executive Board, and currently serves as their Secretary. In addition to ViP, Ashley has also volunteered extensively with organizations such as the Educator’s Warehouse and Wake Forest Baptist Hospital.

THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD 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 selection process is separate and different from how the category winners are selected. Many thanks to the hundreds of our neighbors who voted! For the second time ever in the history of the award, the winner of the People’s Choice Award was also a category winner, Tiffany Parms. Congratulations, Tiffany!

THE PRESIDENT’S VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARD In 2003, the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation founded the President’s Volunteer Service Award to recognize the important role of volunteers in America’s strength and national identity.

This award honors individuals whose service positively impacts communities in every corner of the nation and inspires those around them to take action, too. The PVSA has continued under each administration, honoring the volunteers who are using their time and talents to solve some of the toughest challenges facing our nation.

Led by AmeriCorps and managed in partnership with Points of Light (HandsOn NWNC is a part of their Global Affiliate network), the PVSA recognizes United States citizens and lawful permanent residents of the United States who have achieved the required number of hours of service over a 12- month time period.

Congratulations to the following Governor’s Awards nominees who have also received one of these national awards.

Lifetime Achievement: David Roddick and Dollie Jo Steelman Gold: Dinah Ashcraft, Ethan-Sharmon B. King, Karla Mounts, Luis Nixon, Daniel Rock Silver: Peter Jennings, Keith Fowler, Teresa Hampton, Sue Ann Langfitt, Anne Morehead, Tiffany Parms, Stan Shuman Bronze: Ashley Silva Martinez, Sara Quandt, Cindy Bay Wall

2022 governor’s

VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARDS WINNERS SELECTION CO MMITTEE 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.

Sarina Horner Tamisha Keith April Durr

Torry Reynolds Shannon Stokes Amanda Fitzgerald

Sharee Fowler Shantele Williams Tahja Gaymon Melissa Wilson

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 HandsOn NWNC organize and coordinate the awards.

HandsOn Northwest North Carolina presents these awards each year as part of our mission to mobilize people and organizations that inspire community change. To learn more about HandsOn NWNC and our other services, please scan the QR Code or visit www.HandsOnNWNC.org