Delaware, OH – TEGNA Inc. (NYSE: TGNA), together with its Make A
Difference Day (MDDAY) partners Arby’s Foundation and Points of Light, announced National and All Star award winners from across the country who are being honored for fostering local volunteerism and having a positive impact in their communities. Connections Volunteer Center (Connections) was named an All Star winner, which is selected from projects that have previously won a National MDDAY award, and will receive a $10,000 grant from the TEGNA Foundation. Thirteen National award winners each receive a $10,000 grant from Arby’s Foundation. The grants allow honorees to support a charity related to their MDDAY project and to continue to make a difference in their community.
This year’s winning projects were selected from nearly 800 projects that took place on Make A Difference Day, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. More than 100,000 volunteers from more than 500 communities in nearly every state came out for a variety of projects. Locally organized events ranged from planting trees along local streams to knitting caps for premature babies in local hospitals, and providing meals and comfort to lonely seniors to collecting food for local food banks.
Videos celebrating the MDDAY winners are available on http://www.makeadifferenceday.com/ and on https://www.facebook.com/HeartThreadsVideos as well as by following #MDDay.
Colleen Dennis, Volunteer Resource and Make A Difference Day Project Coordinator, said she was excited and honored to receive the award as it demonstrates continued impact and positions Connections as a national model.
“It means so much to our team to be recognized at the national level for our hard work as we strive to ensure MDDAY is a meaningful and memorable experience for everyone. We coordinate this annual event with wide-lens thinking hoping to attract volunteers of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds throughout Delaware County. It’s our intent to ensure that everyone who participates is able to give or get help in a way that truly makes a difference.”
Connections won the MDDay national award in 2015, which qualified the organization to be considered for the All Star Award – reserved for the best of the best. This year’s event included more than 400 volunteers who visited 53 homes of senior homeowners in Delaware County. Volunteers completed much-needed outdoor chores, including leaf raking, window washing, garden clean up, hedge trimming and more all in an effort to help older adults maintain their independence and pride in their homes. Not only did volunteers serve older adults at their homes, older adult volunteers took on leadership roles in the local projects throughout the day. Additionally, this year’s event expanded by adding a launch site in Sunbury, OH – the eastern part of the county.
The 13 National Award Winners are:
- “Made for More” in Ashburn, AL
- “#Dare2TuTu” in Truckee, CA
- “Learn, Love, Teach – Florida’s Aspiring Educators Packing Comfort for Their Future Students”
- across the state of Florida
- “FreeBikes4Kidz” in Minneapolis, MN
- “Like a Girl Empowerment Bootcamp” in Lincoln, NE
- “Hilton-Parma Make A Difference Day” in Hilton, NY
- “Chipping for Charity” in Ocean Isle Beach, NC
- “Trumbull County Make A Difference Day” in Trumbull County, OH
- “Pittsburgh Champions Make A Difference” in Pittsburgh, PA
- “Mitzvah Day” in Columbia, SC
- “McKinney Make A Difference Day” in McKinney, TX
- “StreamTeam” in Battle Ground, WA
- “Wenatchee Valley Make A Difference Day” in Wenatchee, WA
“MDDay is all about serving the great good and fostering a spirit of community,” said Dennis. For many, it’s an introduction to volunteering while others have leveraged the day as an annual family or team building activity centered on leading and lending support to causes and community they care most about.”
Dennis believes that volunteering opens up many possibilities including meeting new people, cultivating the spirit of giving and making one’s community a place everyone can thrive.
“A giving person is a happy person,” said Dennis. “We are here to guide ‘the happy’ and provide powerful experiences that connect people to volunteerism and to each other – as we’re responsible for creating the community we want to see in Delaware County.”
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About Connections Volunteer Center
Founded in 1996, Connections coordinates the referral and placement of volunteers for more than 70 different agencies who offer more than 200 volunteer opportunities. In the past year, Connections matched over 1,300 volunteers who engaged in nearly 20,000 hours of service to the community. A program of HelpLine, Connections core services are partially funded by United Way of Delaware County and SourcePoint.
About Make A Difference Day
Make A Difference Day is made possible by the employees of TEGNA with support from partners Arby’s Foundation and Points of Light. For more information, visit www.MakeADifferenceDay.com and follow #MDDAY on social media. Find a full list of winners at http://www.makeadifferenceday.com/awards/2017-award-winners/.
About TEGNA
TEGNA Inc. (NYSE: TGNA) is an innovative media company that serves the greater good of our communities. With 47 television stations and two radio stations in 39 markets, TEGNA delivers relevant content and information to consumers across platforms. It is the largest owner of top 4 affiliates in the top 25 markets, reaching approximately one-third of all television households nationwide. Each month, TEGNA reaches 50 million adults on-air and approximately 35 million across its digital platforms. TEGNA has been consistently honored with the industry’s top awards, including Edward R. Murrow, George Polk, Alfred I. DuPont and Emmy Awards. TEGNA delivers results for advertisers through unparalleled and innovative solutions including OTT local advertising network Premion, centralized marketing resource Hatch, and G/O Digital, a one-stop shop for local businesses to connect with consumers through digital marketing. Across platforms, TEGNA tells empowering stories, conducts impactful investigations and delivers innovative marketing solutions. For more information, visit www.TEGNA.com.
For media inquiries, contact:
Tamika Vinson,
Marketing and Development Director HelpLine
P: 740.363.1835, ext. 305
F: 740.369.0358
E: tvinson@helplinedelmor.org
W: helplinedelmor.org
