Volunteer New York! to Stream 40th Annual Volunteer Spirit Awards

Volunteer New York! announced today that its premiere annual benefit, the Volunteer Spirit Awards, which has grown to become the largest volunteer recognition event in our region, will this year become an interactive digitally-streamed event on Tuesday, April 7 at 12:00 P.M. EST via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and volunteernewyork.org/awards. The 600-person Volunteer Spirit Awards breakfast was cancelled at the outset of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The virtual Volunteer Spirit Awards experience will honor 6 outstanding Hudson Valley residents who generously donate their time to local nonprofit organizations as they are presented with their respective awards for outstanding volunteer efforts.

“Their accomplishments in so many important local civic, social and environmental endeavors bring pride to our communities and are models for other volunteers to achieve,” says Jane Solnick, Con Edison’s director of Westchester Regional and Community Affairs. Con Edison is the chief sponsor of the event. “We look forward each year to the Volunteer Spirit Award winners because they are proof of how high someone can reach.”

The broadcast’s finale will spotlight the 2020 Legacy Award presentation to the Gallin Family, on behalf of the Volunteer New York! Board of Directors, for their incredible shared passion for giving back to our community through Stars for Cars and Volunteer New York!, among countless other local organizations.

“This one event brings so many people together and stokes the passion for volunteerism that local nonprofits depend on year round, while also being our largest, most critical fundraiser to keeping our own lights on,” says Alisa H. Kesten, Volunteer New York! Executive Director. “It’s important for so many reasons, which is why we are thrilled to be able to offer the Volunteer Spirit Awards to the world at a time when people are longing for a sense of community and the spirit of ‘We can do this if we work together.’ The primary reason to take part in this live community experiment is to give our honorees the moment they deserve—the feeling of a cheering, connected crowd,” Kesten continued. “For the first time we’re not limited by the size of the ballroom. Let’s make some digital noise in support of volunteerism.”

Volunteer New York! plays a vital role supporting social infrastructure any time, but now it is also coordinating Coronavirus response and recovery opportunities to protect the most vulnerable (volunteernewyork.org/VVC) in our region—and providing community volunteers the opportunity to volunteer from home. Since mobilizing the Virtual Volunteer Center on March 18, Volunteer New York! has enjoyed a 50% spike in its website traffic and a 160% increase in the number of connections made as compared to the previous year’s same timeframe. In 2019, the organization inspired more than 26,000 volunteers to

2020 WINNERS

EDUCATION & LITERACY AWARD: Amy Tietz (New Rochelle resident) for her work with Friends of New Rochelle Public Library.

GOING GREEN AWARD: Gale Pisha (Nanuet resident) for her work with Sierra Club, Lower Hudson Group.

QUALITY OF LIFE AWARD: Ana Yee (White Plains resident) for her work with Gilda’s Club Westchester and White Plains Youth Bureau.

SOCIAL ADVOCACY AWARD: Hector Rodriguez (Yonkers resident) for his work with Rising Ground.

TRANSFORMATION AWARD: Duke Searles (Peekskill resident) for his work with the Montrose VA Food Pantry.

YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARD: Abe Baker-Butler (Rye Brook resident) for his work with Students Against Nicotine and Westchester County Youth Board.

White Plains Resident Ana Yee to Receive the 2020 QUALITY OF LIFE AWARD

for her work with Gilda’s Club Westchester and White Plains Youth Bureau.

Growing up, Ana Yee’s father, a diplomat to El Salvador, saw firsthand how helping others could help build a better community. One day while cooking food together as a family to donate to a local shelter, he said, “Imagine if everyone did something to give back, what a wonderful place our world would be.” His words stuck with Ana and continue to guide her to this day.

A longtime resident of White Plains, Ana has made elevating her community her priority. Fourteen years ago when she was diagnosed with cancer, Ana turned to Gilda’s Club Westchester, which offers resources to those whose lives have been touched by the illness, for support. To give back, Ana became a Gilda’s Club volunteer in 2012 and devotes more than 150 hours to the organization each year. But, she wanted to do more and thought about how she could make an even bigger impact.

As a key member of the Berkeley College Career Services team, Ana led the effort to make Gilda’s Club part of Berkeley College’s annual Community Service Week initiative, where faculty, staff, students and alumni serve at more than 40 nonprofits and community organizations each year. As the Gilda’s site captain, Ana leads a Berkeley team in planting flowers and beautifying the grounds each May, a service that Gilda’s has come to rely on and celebrate.

Ana also shares her passion for helping young people with the White Plains Youth Bureau, which works with 2,000 youths every day in the city she calls home. She helps students acquire mentors, resources and contacts and even helps them dress for success. She also spearheads the Bureau’s Thanksgiving drive where Berkeley College donate turkeys and staff provide fixings to feed more than 75 families. Ana’s team also has fulfilled holiday wish lists for more than 100 local children.

Ana believes volunteerism not only changes the lives of those being served, but also those in service. “Do one nice thing for someone else,” she says, “and it will brighten your day.”