Hundreds of volunteers were celebrated and recognized during the 49th annual prize for Spirit of Volnteary for their disinterested dedication to restore the Comté d’Orange community, addressing education, housing, food insecurity and other social needs.
OneOC, an organization dedicated to the elevation and acceleration of the success and the scope of non-profit organizations of the County Orange, welcomed the ceremony on Thursday, April 24, at the Anaheim grove, joined by hundreds of participants gathered to salute the work of individuals, groups and companies whose volunteering has had a direct impact on people in the Comté and beyond.
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Lockees No Limits Learning Center goes on stage at the Spirit of Volnteary Awards Annual at Grove in Anaheim on Thursday April 24, 2025. (Photo of Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register / SCNG)
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Lockees No Limits Learning Center goes on stage at the Spirit of Volnteary Awards Annual at Grove in Anaheim on Thursday April 24, 2025. (Photo of Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register / SCNG)
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The main lecturer Jennifer Sirangelo, CEO of The National Points of Light, has spoken to challenges that have led to the decline in volunteering in America in recent decades.
According to a recently published report by Points of Light, around a third of non -profit workforce are fired by volunteers, but 47% of organizations are struggling to recruit. In the United States, 64% of non-profit organizations said an increase in demand for services, while 29% of groups said they had less funding and staff.
“This means that the elderly are not visited,” said Sirangelo. “Young people have no tutors. Some of our shelters for animals and people, and our food banks, they are not able to do as much as they could if they were entirely equipped with the volunteers they need. ”
Non -profit organizations, governments and communities have an important role in reversing this trend, added Sirangelo.
“We know people are struggling,” said Sirangelo. “We already know that young people are in a mental health crisis, and we know that our communities are faced with greater challenges with fewer resources, and volunteers are more necessary. We know that in our society, there are problems of division and bridges which must be built in our pluralist society.”
Among the people honored to introduce themselves to communities in need, there was Henry Nielson and Mila Rubin, the secondary elders who run Empower Education, a non -profit organization with the vision of improving educational opportunities for young badly served.
Two years since its creation, Empower Education has collected more than $ 28,000 to build two classrooms in a rural village in Uganda, and organized a meal packaging event led by students to send more than 5,000 meals for children in the African country.
“But their mission does not stop there. The work of education to allow education extends to the communities of Mexico and Korea with initiatives focused on literacy, school retention, gender equality and the empowerment of young people,” said YJ OH, member of the ONOC board of directors. “Their objective is to provide students with the tools and opportunities they need to succeed and raise entire communities in the process.”
Nielson said it was “great” for their work and that more than 100 volunteers allow education is recognized.
“I am really excited for the future of this group because it continues to grow with each new meeting that we organize every Sunday … and all the great things that we can do by working together in a team,” said Nielson.
The Illumination Foundation has received the innovation prize for group work providing housing and health services to individuals and families who know homelessness.
“This price is not only concerned with our organization, it is really a tribute to the people who feed it,” said Pooja Bhalla, CEO of Illumination Foundation. “During the lighting, we believe that innovation does not remember ideas, but it is courage, courage to do things differently, the courage to listen deeply, to act daringly and to reinvent what is possible. Today, the problems we face – mental health, homelessness, access to care – require more than traditional solutions.
Throughout the event, dozens of volunteers and groups were flashy on the big screen, calling for their contributions. Certain honored groups have been presented with special presentations, including Homeaid Orange County, the Institute for Community Impact, No Limits Learning Center, La Passkeys Foundation and PNC Bank.
“Our volunteers are more than ever necessary,” said Tim Strauch, president and chief executive officer of Oneoc. “There is so much uncertainty and our non -profit organizations cannot do it without (volunteers).”
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
