The Monthly Volunteer Recognition Award for December 2012 was awarded to AmeriCorps for their service and commitment to programs of Volunteer Hayward, a collaboration of the Hayward Area Recreation & Park District and the Hayward Unified School District.
Led by field coordinators Elise Stringent and Sabrina Aranda-Smith, AmeriCorps and their students have developed a wonderful relationship with Volunteer Hayward. One of their programs, “Viva Bien, Coma Bien, Siéntase Bien (VCS)”, a HUSD AmeriCorps grant program, is focused on improving health and fitness for families within a school-based delivery system.
In October of this year, Volunteer Hayward partnered with AmeriCorps to help organize the Hayward Promise Neighborhood Festival at Harder Elementary. AmeriCorps was the largest volunteer group that attended the event with 54 volunteers. With the tough task of helping feed over 1,300 festival participants, they were the first to arrive at 6:00 a.m. and the last to leave in the afternoon.
The AmeriCorps volunteers were also essential with assisting with Volunteer Hayward’s Adopt-A-Family program. On Thursday, December 13th, AmeriCorps volunteers helped fill over 70 bags of canned goods for the Senior Center Brown Bag program. The following day they helped transform the Senior Center into Santa’s workshop and on the morning of the event, they once again assisted by jumping in the kitchen to help prepare breakfast for both the families and volunteers.
This holiday season, Volunteer Hayward was able to help countless families and children in need. This would not have been possible if it were not for the wonderful volunteers from AmeriCorps. They are well-deserving of the Board of Directors’ Monthly Volunteer Recognition Award for December 2012 and will be eligible for the Volunteer of the Year Award for 2012.