Service Above Self Top Honor Goes to Judy Macias: Coastside Volunteer of the Year

In front of an enthusiastic crowd of almost 200 guests at the Rotary Club of Half Moon Bay’s annual fundraiser Magic of the Coastside, Judy Macias was recognized as the 2015 recipient of the Service Above Self Award. She received the top honor, but all four of the finalists, June Baxter, Carol Ferguson, Naomi Patridge, and Judy Macias, were recognized for their outstanding contributions to Coastside voluntarism. Stephanie Perez was also awarded the first Youth Service Above Self Award for her contributions to the RotaCare Clinic and for her leadership as 2014-2015 of Half Moon Bay High School’s Interact Club, an organization dedicated to voluntarism and community service.

2015 marks the fourth year for this award. The Rotary Club of Half Moon Bay started this tradition to honor the Rotary ideal of Service Above Self, and actively seeks nominations from the local nonprofit community at large.

Judy Macias is a familiar name in Half Moon Bay as Founding Board Member of the Sonrisas Community Dental Center. Sonrisas, a 501c3 community benefit organization, opened in 2001 in response to the lack of dental services for low-income residents of the Coastside. Since then, thousands of children, young adults, adults and senior citizens have received quality dental care from the dental professionals at Sonrisas.

While still serving on the board of Sonrisas, Judy has a new-found passion as Founder and Co-Chair of Village of the Coastside. This visionary program follows the model of more than 140 Villages in the U.S. to establish a virtual village to help people “age in place.” The Village Model (www.vtvnetwork.org) has been called the grassroots solution for the middle income population. Village members will gain access to resources and social connections that help them.

Ms. Macias comes from a longstanding dedication to Coastside residents in need. She was one of the early volunteers at the Coastside RotaCare Clinic. The RotaCare Clinic is the free medical clinic for the uninsured in Half Moon Bay and the surrounding Coastside communities, and is the the Rotary Club of Half Moon Bay’s signature cause. She also served as Executive Director of Coastside Hope and was instrumental in setting up the highly successful Adopt-a-Family program which provides gifts to families in need during the holiday season

The members of the Rotary Club of Half Moon Bay donate time and money to support the under-served in the community and around the world. Magic of the Coastside is its key fundraising event for the RotaCare Clinic and for its worldwide charitable causes. The Rotary Club of Half Moon Bay is one of 34,000 clubs around the world. The Half Moon Bay Club meets each Thursday for lunch at the Portuguese Center at 724 Kelly Street in downtown Half Moon Bay. http://www.rotaryofhalfmoonbay.com/

Contact Mary Corcoran, Public Relations Chairperson, at mcorcoranhmb@gmail.com or 650-218-0436.

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