NC-ACTS! AmeriCorps Outstanding Service Award

This award is presented to an NC-ACTS! AmeriCorps member who provides outstanding service to their service site by going above and beyond the responsibilities and duties stated in their Service Site Agreement. The winner is a member who has used their skills and knowledge to help the site advance their mission, expand their service/client base and or enhance the services they provide. Nominees must be nominated by a current NC-ACTS! Campus Coordinator.

The winner will receive a $100 cash award and NC Campus Compact will donate another $100 to the service site.  Finalists receive a certificate of acknowledgement.

Eligibility

To qualify, a member must meet the following criteria:

• Began serving their hours in the fall semester.
• Must serve for more than one semester at their site.  
• The service cannot be part of an internship, practicum or student teaching requirement.

2009 Award Winner - Grace Johnson, Wake Forest University

The inaugural winner was announced on April 15, 2009.  Grace Johnson was selected from an impressive group of 5 statewide finalists (see below). Grace’s service site was the Campus Kitchen at Wake Forest, a food recycling program that uses cooked but never served food from the campus dining hall to make healthy and nutritious meals for the needy of the community.  Local agencies they serve include Children’s Home, Prodigals Community, Ronald McDonald House, AIDS Care Services, First Assembly of God, the Salvation Army and Samaritan Inn.  While Grace helps with delivery shifts, her specialty is cooking the food for the clients that Campus Kitchen serves. To enable her to run the kitchen on her own, she became Serve Safe Certified.  In addition to her volunteer efforts on site, Grace served on the committee for the National Campus Kitchen Conference and served as a presenter.

She has also done much research and is a strong advocate for starting a community garden on campus that Campus Kitchen could use to help feed their clients fresh produce.  Finally, she helped create an NC-ACTS! promotional video for Wake Forest by offering her time for pictures and interviews.  In the words of her NC-ACTS! Campus Coordinator, “she has a wonderful spirit that is uplifting to all who come in contact with her and she is a fine representation of the NC-ACTS! Program at Wake Forest University.”  Click here to read Grace's full bio.

2009 Finalists
Heather Turner, Gardner-Webb University
Kelly Moss, Lenoir-Rhyne University

Sylvia Ukponmwan, NC Central University

Audrey Smith, UNC-Greensboro