Chase Woman Named Kidney Foundation Volunteer of the Year

The National Kidney Foundation of Maryland (NKF-MD) recently held its annual Volunteer Awards Reception at The Baltimore Museum of Industry.

Sponsored by Mid-Atlantic Nephrology Associates, Envirotest and Johns Hopkins Medicine Comprehensive Transplant Center, the event recognized individuals and organizations for their time and hard work on behalf of the Foundation.

“Our volunteers truly are the lifeline of this lifesaving organization,” said Cassie Shafer, NKF-MD’s CEO.

“They make a tangible difference in the lives of our kidney patients and many have been personally touched by kidney disease, which makes their experience
extraordinarily meaningful.”

With WJZ-TV’s Ron Matz as emcee, NKF-MD presented 19 awards. Chase resident and NKF-MD’s immediate board past president, Wanda Lessner, took top honors with the 2012 Volunteer of the Year Award.

According to NKF-MD:

“Wanda has raised the level of volunteerism in our organization to new heights. She is a long-time dedicated member of the board of directors and has contributed over a decade of service. Among her many contributions, some of her most notable were serving as the chairwoman for the Jay Leno concert, and participating on numerous committees such as Kidney Walk, Santé: Spoil Your Palate and Rappel for Kidney Health.

This leader is not afraid of throwing out challenges to fellow board members. For last year’s Santé event she challenged every board member to buy or sell at least 10 tickets to the event. She set the pace selling more than 25 tickets herself. 

She rappelled “over the edge” each of the past three years. She’s been responsible for ensuring sponsorship support from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (where she works serves as director of executive inquiry), and doesn’t hesitate to put her own money behind her fundraising efforts.

She reflects our commitment to spreading kidney health awareness throughout our service area; is generous, cheerful and always pleasant. This is a woman who truly cares about the work of the National Kidney Foundation of Maryland and the difference we are making changing and saving lives.”

In addition to honoring the volunteers, the reception celebrated NFK-MD’s many
accomplishments throughout the year, such as:

• KEY: Kidneys, Evaluate Yours free community health screenings reached more than 600 people, identifying at least 30 percent of these individuals with possible risk factor for kidney disease.

• NKF-MD launched the Kidney Health Risk Assessment (KHRA) on World Kidney Day. This front-line assessment provided awareness and information about kidney disease to over 800 individuals.

• Educational talks continued to touch a real need in several new areas of the state, including inner-city Baltimore.

• The Foundation funded $200,000 to valuable life-saving research in Maryland, which is more funding towards research than any other NKF division or affiliate in the country! 

• NKF-MD’s patient emergency assistance program funded $165,000 to equip social workers to meet the emergency needs of dialysis patients and transplant recipients, whose lives have been dramatically altered by kidney disease. 

Serving central and western Maryland, the Delmarva Peninsula and portions of West Virginia, the National Kidney Foundation of Maryland is the area’s only voluntary health agency dedicated to the prevention, treatment and cure of kidney and urinary tract diseases. For more information, visit www.kidneymd.org.