President's Volunteer Service Award winners honored

PRESS RELEASE DATE: MAY 19, 2009

Three Martin County residents were honored with the President’s Volunteer Service Award during the April 29 Martin Volunteers Advisory Board meeting in Stuart.

Recipients, Joseph and Dolores Zarro, of Hobe Sound, were recognized for dedicating 4880 and 4990 volunteer hours throughout their lifetime, respectively, and Edward Singer, Jensen Beach, was recognized for his 4134 volunteer hours.

“We are so pleased to present these awards to volunteers who demonstrate such a commitment to helping agencies and their clients,” Martin Volunteers Director Carol Hodnett said.

HISTORY OF THE AWARD

In his 2002 State of the Union address, President Bush issued a challenge to all Americans to make time to help their neighbors, communities and nation through service. He called on each person to dedicate at least 4,000 hours – or two years – to service over the course of their lives.

In 2003, President Bush created the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation to find ways to recognize the valuable contributions volunteers are making in our nation. The council in turn 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 President's Volunteer Service Award recognizes individuals, families and groups that have achieved a certain standard – measured by the number of hours served during a 12-month period or cumulative hours earned over the course of a lifetime.

Locally, Martin Volunteers has begun to recognize volunteers for cumulative hours earned over the course of a lifetime. In order to account for the hours, the volunteers must be registered with Martin Volunteers.

In addition to tracking volunteerism in Martin County, Martin Volunteers coordinates the RSVP and such large-scale projects as the White Doves Holiday Project, the School Supplies for Students Drive, the Executive Service Corps of the Treasure Coast and HandsOn Martin.

Call (772) 220-4472 or visit www.martinvolunteers.org for more information about Martin Volunteers, a program of United Way of Martin County.