Your Hometown Lima Stations/United Way of Greater Lima/The Lima News

Jefferson Awards for Public Service

— honoring outstanding volunteers —

   Your Hometown Lima Stations, United Way of Greater Lima and The Lima News work cooperatively to bring the Jefferson Awards to Lima/Allen County and its contiguous counties.

   From all nominations submitted, eight volunteers will be selected by a panel of area leaders as the Jefferson Awards winners. Each will receive a Jefferson Awards bronze medallion at an event in March, 2012.

   Alberta M. Lee, a civic leader who believes in volunteerism and public service, is sponsoring monetary awards to accompany the Jefferson Award medallions. Eight local winners will each receive $350 for the non-profit organizations for which they volunteer. One of the eight local winners will advance to the national competition and will receive an additional $700 for the organization for which they volunteer. A national committee will select our local winner to attend the National Ceremony in Washington, DC in June and that person will be announced at the local banquet in March.

   Our local representative will be honored, along with other local winners from across America, at the national program in Washington DC. Five gold medallion Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Awards for greatest public service benefiting local communities will be awarded at the national event.

Jefferson Awards History

   The American Institute for Public Service (now known as the Jefferson Awards for Public Service) was founded in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Senator Robert Taft, Jr. and Sam Beard to establish a national recognition for, and encouragement of, outstanding community and public service — the Jefferson Awards.

   Jefferson Awards are presented on two levels, local and national. On the local level, Jefferson Award recipients are volunteers who do extraordinary things without expectation of recognition or reward. Past local winners include Estella Adams, Penny Daniels, Shannon Mitchell, Chris Jackson, Dan Endicott, Dr. Gene Wright, Andrea Mitchell, and Sandy Monfort. Past national Jefferson Award recipients include Rosalyn Carter, Walter Cronkite, John Glenn, Barbara Bush, Bob Hope, Dr. Henry Kissinger, General Colin Powell, Oprah Winfrey and Elizabeth Dole.

   Across America, hundreds of media affiliates and communities sponsor the Jefferson Awards. Through these local Jefferson Award Programs, 14,000 nominations were received last year.

Eligibility

• Individuals of all ages may be nominated for the Jefferson Awards. Groups are not eligible, however, individuals from groups may be nominated. The exception is that married couples or two people who have worked closely on a project may be nominated. The volunteer work must be done in Allen County or a county bordering Allen County (Putnam, Van Wert, Auglaize, Hardin, Hancock or Mercer County). Or the volunteer must reside in one of those seven counties.

• Individuals are not eligible for cash awards.

• Cash awards must be made payable to qualifying nonprofit organizations with a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, with the IRS or be a political subdivision of the state as described in 107(c)(1), such as a public school or government agency. If the organization for which the winner volunteers is not eligible for a cash award, another qualifying agency may be selected.

• Top eight winners are eligible for re-nomination three years after their original nomination.

• Volunteer service may be performed on work-release time, without pay or for student course credit.

Application deadline - Wednesday, Feb. 22rd, 2012, at 12 Noon.

If you have questions contact: Judy Poling, Marketing Director, United Way of Greater Lima

419-227-6341 or email: jpoling@unitedwaylima.org

Click Here to fill out the Nomination Form online

Click Here for a printable version of the Nomination Form