Congratulations to our 2021 Volunteer Award Winners

Lots of thoughts and words come to mind when thinking about our volunteers. They freely give of themselves, their time and their talents. They consistently show care and concern. And they love their fellow neighbor. What they do is so very important, yet typically, very simple acts of kindness are performed.

During our annual meeting, we recognized volunteers who have gone above and beyond to make a difference at SVdP. Please help us honor these special people for their service to SVdP and our local communities. We are grateful and could not do what we do without you.

	Ministry	2021 Recipient	Remarks
1	North District	Bob White	Bob was district president for the past six years. Besides leading through the pandemic, he's been active with the Boulevard Place Food Pantry board and was a key force behind the remodeling and expansion of that great facility.
2	North District	Steve Hastings	Steve is a regular volunteer at the Distribution Center, repairing furniture for sale or distribution. He always cares for those in need and organizes a Christmas dinner at Holy Cross for them.
3	South District	Ron Mikkelson	Ron first volunteered in 1993 and became a conference president at St. Mark the next year. He has been a dedicated volunteer, increasing his commitment after his retirement in 2000, and then again during the pandemic.
4	East District	Chuck Jackson	Chuck is an integral member of the Holy Spirit Council who has supported the SVdP warehouse efforts for years. He repairs and tests appliances, and maintains the appliances used in the warehouse including the washing machines, dryers, hot water tanks, plumbing and electrical wiring and lighting. He also repairs bicycles for the homeless, as well as repairs youth bicycles for resale and donates the proceeds to SVdP.
5	West District	Tom Gerding	Tom has served tirelessly as the president of St. Ann Conference.
6	West District	Patrick Hardman	Patrick serves as the president of Annunciation Conference. Using an innovative model, he has developed a new food pantry for Brazil, working with both the Council and the Knights of Columbus to meet local needs.
7	South Central Indiana District	Jim and Marilyn Clerc	Jim and Marilyn are incredibly dedicated volunteers in the St. Bartholomew Conference. Jim has been vice president, president and spiritual advisor for the conference and district, and Marilyn has served as secretary. Both have also been lead the systemic change activities in Bartholomew County. They became certified CLF facilitators and have led two rounds of CLF already in Columbus. Marilyn and Jim have worked to establish the local Trusted Mentors program in Bartholomew County.
8	Southern Indiana District	Barbra Rainbolt	Barbra was office manager at St. Michael Church in Bradford. When she joined the St. Joseph Conference, she started a small food pantry at the church office with donated food. Since then, she has developed into a SVdP food pantry with food now supplied by Dare to Care.
9	Southern Indiana District	Jay Hall	Jay became a member in 2011 and served as president for nearly a decade. Jay's organizational skills are outstanding. We commend him for organizing our food pantry. Jay is very compassionate to our neighbors who visit. He's the very definition of a good Vincentian!
10	Help Lines	Tamara Carr	Tamara has been a volunteer since 2016. She is a home visitor for St. Joan of Arc Conference, and helps in the bike ministry for the homeless, and assists clients calling the Help Line. She takes the initiative to meet a client's needs, seeking out other resources when SVdP does not have the services available. Tamara is an extraordinary example of our Vincentian values, being Jesus' hands and feet to those in need.
11	Spanish Help Line	Anika Castillo	Anika has helped with the Spanish Help Line for 17 years. She serves as the interpreter for district meetings and home visits. She is an amazing asset to the St. Patrick's Conference.
12	Online Help Line	Donna King	Donna helps with the Online Help Line. She is always willing to take someone's place, if necessary, and works to keep things updated. Donna always has lots of ideas to improve the mission.
13	Food Pantry	Joe Jones	Joe is a dedicated volunteer who has worked the drive-thru in sunshine and in the worst weather for the past 18 months. Now, he has brought the same dedication to the inside shopping at the 30th Street Food Pantry.
14	Distribution Center	Celie Schultz (deceased in August)	Celie was always willing to help in any way possible. Her devotion to serve was always first, even when she was not in the best health. Celie would take donations home that needed a little TLC and wash, repair and return them. She was a long-time St. Jude parishioner and was truly an inspiration to us all.
15	Distribution Center	Mary Lievertz (Referral Services)	Mary has been invaluable to our mission to serve our neighbors in need. She was one of the first volunteers to arrive at the Distribution Center to serve our clients after COVID. Mary has worked in the dish room, clothing areas and children's area. She supervises other volunteers and works 12 to 18 hours a week. We would not have been able to offer much needed items to clients without her dedication.
16	Homeless Ministry	Megan Smith	Megan volunteers during the school year for the Homeless Ministry. She is a self-starter and organizes all our food and personal products. When we are short-handed, she steps in to serve our homeless neighbors. She is a quiet, humble, dedicated and dependable servant.
17	Beggars for the Poor	Ron Prusinski	Ron has been a parishioner of St. Christopher's Parish for 34 years. He has been involved with SVdP and Beggars for the Poor for over 10 years. He truly enjoys serving those in need throughout the city.
18	Changing Lives Forever	Ed Johnstone	Ed has been so instrumental in helping us with getting our CLF programs started virtually, teaching the facilitators how to use Google, helping with the Chromebooks, etc. He's knowledgeable about technology, and we have adapted well thanks to his guidance.
19	Office Staff	Mary Oss	Mary shares here accounting skills with us. She is the accountant for retail activity and payroll allocations. She's very dedicated to SVdP and ensures we have no missteps in reporting requirements.
20	President's Award	Diana Davis	As the retiring president, Diana has served the West District in so many ways. And she has done it with a tireless spirit of love and compassion.
21	President's Award	Steve Gillman	Steve is a handyman extraordinaire! There is simply nothing he can't fix or do.
22	President's Award	Kevin Tyra	Kevin started and managed our Ozanam Free Legal Clinic for 18 years. He has literally helped thousands of neighbors in need wade through the many legal situations.