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Nominations Sought for Annual Older Volunteers
Recognition
Deadline December 9 to nominate volunteers 50 and
older
Nov. 1, 2005 - For the fourth year, outstanding
baby boomer and senior citizen volunteers from across the country will
be honored with a MetLife Foundation Older Volunteers Enrich America
Award. Administered by the National Association of Area Agencies on
Aging (n4a), the awards recognize and build awareness of the exemplary
contributions of older adults and encourage other older adults to
contribute their knowledge, skills and time to enrich society through
volunteerism.
The Call for Nominations is underway with
volunteer programs nominating outstanding volunteers in three
categories: Community Champion, Mentor and Team Spirit. The awards
recognize volunteers who are working to make their community a better
place to live, working with youth and their families and helping other
older adults.
The deadline for nominations is December 9.
"We are pleased to join n4a in offering a fourth
round of awards," said Sibyl Jacobson, president, MetLife Foundation.
"The award winners' stories inspire individuals of all ages and remind
us of the wealth of commitment and talent that exists in the older
population that can be marshalled to strengthen communities."
"It has been n4a's great pleasure the past three
years to discover extraordinary older volunteers and tell their stories
through this program," notes n4a CEO Sandy Markwood. "At a time when so
much of our daily news is troubling, we look forward to honoring 25
individuals whose selfless efforts on behalf of others help us see the
good that people can do."
Twenty-five volunteers will be honored at an award
ceremony on April 28, 2006, in Washington, D.C. Each honoree will
receive an engraved gift acknowledging his or her achievement, and the
honoree's organization will receive a monetary award to help further its
work.
This year, twenty-six award recipients were
selected from more than 200 nominations made by volunteer programs and
agencies in 47 states and the District of Columbia for their activities
in 2004.
Nominees were required to be at least 50 years of
age and to have volunteered with the nominating organization for at
least one year.
Selections in three categories were made with the
assistance of members of the Older Volunteers Enrich America Awards Blue
Ribbon Panel and Advisory Board. Team Spirit awards honor older
volunteers who help other older adults; Mentor awards recognize older
volunteers who work with young people and their families; and Community
Champion awards recognize those who use their time and talent to make
their community a better place to live.
The top award recipient in each category is
recognized as a Gold Honoree. This year's Gold Honorees are:
● Victoria Thornton-Lucas, age 64, of South Ozone
Park, New York, earned top recognition in the Community Champion
category for seeing a desperate need in her community and responding
through the creation of the Bushwick Community Council Service (BCCS)
Soup Kitchen and Pantry in 1996. This program now serves more than
30,000 people each year.
● Edward Jagen, age 55, of Stevensville, MD,
earned top recognition in the Mentor category for co-founding The Good
Knight Network, a program that empowers children and adults to become
active citizens and protectors of others through education using a
multi-cultural knighthood theme. Mr. Jagen also created educational kits
that allow organizations to replicate this innovative program.
● Lucille Brock-Thomas, age 60, of Screven,
Georgia, earned top recognition in the Team Spirit category for
improving quality of life for older adults through the Faith in Action -
"REACH OUT and TOUCH" Agency. Among her many accomplishments, Ms.
Brock-Thomas organized and implemented a service that provides seniors
access to free and discounted prescription drugs, enabling them to
afford the necessities of life without having to compromise basic health
care needs.
Additional information about the MetLife Foundation
2006 Older Volunteers Enrich America Awards program, including a
nomination form, can be found on the n4a web site at
http://www.n4a.org/metlife_awards.cfm. The deadline for receipt of
nominations by n4a is December 9, 2005.
The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging
(n4a) is the leading voice on aging issues for Area Agencies on Aging
across the country and a champion for Title VI-Native American aging
programs in our nation's capital. For more information about n4a, visit
www.n4a.org.
MetLife Foundation, established by MetLife in 1976,
supports educational, health, civic and cultural organizations. For more
information about the Foundation, visit
www.metlife.org.
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