Ad Astra Honors Presented at Day of Caring Kick-off
This year marked the start of a new Day of Caring tradition, the Ad Astra Honors. The Honors will encompass a variety of volunteer awards, beginning this year with the existing Marge Heeney Award that honors volunteers who work directly with United Way. A second award open to all community volunteers was added this year. Barraclough said the UWGT Volunteer Engagement Committee hoped to add more awards next year.
The Marge Heeney Award was presented to Marlou Wegener. Wegener currently chairs the UWGT Community Impact Council. Wegener’s nominator said “This individual has provided great leadership in guiding our council to make informed decisions. She is a considerate and organized volunteer and continually supports our work, and she does all this with a wonderful sense of humor.”
The new Ad Astra Award was presented to Angela Dake, organizer of 1,000 Masks for Shawnee County, a grassroots group that grew out of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Barraclough introduced Dake in part by explaining the premise of the award. “Ad Astra Honors recognize those in our community who go above and beyond to serve others. They are the unsung heroes, rarely seeking recognition and often are happy working their magic out of the spotlight. This year’s nominee is no different.”
She also read an excerpt from Dake’s nomination, a letter of support signed by more than 20 individuals and four organizations that said “Angela saw a need for the people in our community to protect themselves and those around them. She thought of a creative solution… ‘If I can find 100 volunteers to sew 10 masks we would have 1,000 masks for Shawnee County.’ And so the group was born. She has spent countless hours organizing volunteers, supplies and best practices for those in need in our community. What was a dream of 1,000 masks to date has resulted in the creation of 27,282 masks and counting.”
Want to earn your own Ad Astra Honor in 2021? Start or enhance your own volunteer journey by creating a free account at TopekaVolunteers.org today!