• Chih-Hsiang Li (Neal Potter Path of Achievement Award, for lifetime service by residents age 60 and up), who has dedicated decades of service to the Chinese-American community through his work with the Chinese Culture and Community Service Center
• Sharyn R. Duffin (Neal Potter Path of Achievement Award, for lifetime service by residents age 60 and up), in recognition of her unique, invaluable role in elevating appreciation of the historical role of African Americans in Montgomery County
• Jane Callen (Volunteer of the Year), who devoted more than 1,300 volunteer hours during 2017 with the American Red Cross, Glen Echo Fire Department, and JSSA Hospice
• Esmirna Gutierrez (Youth Volunteer of the Year), a Kennedy High School sophomore who has been volunteering with Montgomery Housing Partnership's Homework Club since she was in sixth grade
• Comfort Cases (Volunteer Group of the Year), whose volunteer teams put together backpacks filled with essential items for children entering the foster care system
• Apex Home Loans (Corporate Volunteer of the Year), whose employees actively support a variety of causes that contribute to the health and welfare of our community

County Executive Ike Leggett will also present the Roscoe R. Nix Distinguished Community Leadership Award to three individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to Montgomery County over the course of their lives:

• Tufail Ahmad, chairman of the Montgomery County Muslim Foundation, who has engaged his community to serve our neighbors in need regardless of faith, race, or gender
• Brian Frosh, who has served three decades in public service--as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, State Senate, and now as Attorney General--dedicated to ensuring fairness, equality, and justice for all
• Linda Plummer, leader of the Montgomery County NAACP, who has tirelessly battled racism, bigotry, and prejudice, working to remove the barriers that keep people from realizing their full potential

Thank you to the Fund for Montgomery with a generous contribution from the Carl M. Freeman Foundation for sponsoring this event. Learn more about the winners and the awards here.

Duck Festival volunteers

The Arc Montgomery County is about connecting people with and without disabilities, right in their own communities. The organization supports children, youth, adults, and seniors affected by intellectual and developmental disabilities--and their families--by providing inclusive child care, work-skills training, employment, community living services, resources, advocacy, and respite care. 

Volunteers help The Arc fulfill its mission in a variety of ways. One of the organization's biggest volunteer projects is for event assistants at its annual Duck Festival, this year set for Saturday, April 28, 9 am-12 noon in Silver Spring. Volunteers age 14 and up can help with all kinds of activities at this community-awareness and fundraising event--including face painting, old-fashioned carnival-style games, and merchandise sales. Some volunteers can even take on the role of "Quacky," the organization's duck mascot, posing for photos and giving out high-fives.

Volunteers also assist at Urban Thrift (this opportunity is for seniors, age 55 and up, only), a book club for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and summer programs for children and youth. At The Arc's summer camp in Silver Spring, volunteers age 13 and older provide an extra hands in the classroom, helping with everything from setting up snacks to reading stories at circle time. They directly engage with children one to 10 years old, and love being greeted by hugs as they come to know the campers better. SSL hours are preapproved by MCPS for all of these opportunities available to students.

A unique feature of volunteering with The Arc Montgomery County is that volunteers self-select which shifts they want to serve via an online schedule made available to them once they've been cleared for service. This way, volunteers can work around things like family vacations or other appointments.

When you volunteer with The Arc, you can actually see and feel how your volunteer service makes a difference. In fact, many volunteers return year after year because they love the connections they make with the people they support.

To learn more about how to get involved at The Arc, email Deborah Mark or call 307-984-5777 x1245.

April is Earth Month, a time to call attention to our planet's needs and get involved in environmental projects, including environment-focused volunteer activities like park and stream cleanups. 

Fortunately, there are lots of opportunities to help with environmental volunteer needs throughout our region all month--and beyond! The largest of these efforts is the Alice Ferguson Foundation's 30th Annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup, which counts on thousands of volunteers to pick up trash at hundreds of parks and streams across the DC metro area throughout April (and especially on Saturday, April 14). You can even lead a cleanup at your favorite park through this project. 

Other Earth Month volunteer activities include painting storm drains in Wheaton  on Saturdays, April 7, 21, and 28,   to educate the public that everything that goes down the storm drain makes its way to our rivers and streams, plus landscaping at a group home for adults with disabilities in Derwood on Saturday, April 7; pulling invasive weeds  along a road in Bethesda on Sunday, April 15; assisting with the "Forest Friends Festival" in Wheaton on Sunday, April 22; and helping with an electronics recycling and paper shredding event in Olney on Saturday, April 28. Find even more ways to volunteer on our April volunteer calendar and by following this search on our website for environment-related opportunities . 

Many of these projects are preapproved by MCPS for SSL hours.

You can also stay connected through these links: