Ashe Mountain Times

With the list of nominees for the county's annual volunteer awards soon to become a little clearer, coordinator Glenda Luther provided an update to commissioners Monday afternoon on the numerous charitable endeavors across Ashe County.

Luther summarized the success of last year's canned food drive, which was held from October to December that collected a total of 1,543 items and was divided equally among local food banks.

The recipients of the giving were the Sharing Center, Ashe Services for Aging, Ashe Really Cares, A Safe Home for Everyone, and Ashe Outreach Ministries.

She also brought to the commissioners' attention the results of the December Children's Christmas Project that sponsored a little more than 1,000 local children who otherwise might not have had presents during the holidays.

“Volunteers met at Family Central to wrap gifts and to help on distribution day,” said Luther. “The program had many volunteers who contributed to the success of the project.”

In other program news, Luther said the Volunteer Initiative Program also applied for and received a community grant from Walmart for $500, which was divided equally among the food banks.

The initiative's newsletter, Luther said, has been mailed to 714 agencies and volunteers within Ashe County. Luther said she continues to add names of volunteers to the newsletter.

“It is my belief that volunteers are the largest targeted population for the newsletter so that they can be informed of what volunteer opportunities are available,” said Luther.

Luther also said the 2012 Governor's Awards are under way and the N.C. Commission on 

Volunteerism has approved the nomination for Ashe County. The Ashe Volunteer Advisory Board has nominated Drury Thompson, who also received a nomination for the Medallion Award, Silvio Bucci, and all 12 county volunteer fire departments and rescue groups.

Organizers have also been making preparations for the 27th annual Volunteer Awards Ceremony, which will be held on Thursday, April 19, at the Ashe County High School auditorium. Nomination forms for the event, Luther said, were mailed out last week.

“I am very excited about recognizing our volunteers for all their time spent helping others in Ashe County,” said Luther.

Luther also reaffirmed to commissioners her mission to “recruit volunteers for special projects and programs through advertisements and presentations.”

“I will continue to attend the interagency meetings to learn from the agency and organization leaders within Ashe County,” said Luther. “I will also continue to add to the new data base of volunteers so they can receive information concerning volunteer opportunities.”