Media Advisory
National Volunteer Week, April 19-15, 2009
For Immediate Release
Contact
Diana Roemer
Executive Director
American Red Cross
Northwest Illinois Chapter
224 W. Galena Avenue
Freeport, Illinois 61032
(815) 233-0011
Director.nwirc@comcast.net
The American Red Cross Northwest Illinois Chapter will honor its hardworking volunteers with a breakfast in Freeport on Friday, April 24, 2009.
According to many volunteers, the reward for their work is the satisfaction of helping others, active involvement in the community and the friendships that form through volunteer work.
“I’m not wealthy, but I am richer because I volunteer,” comments one Red Crosser when expressing that volunteering has changed her life.
The American Red Cross is especially grateful for the hundreds of thousands of volunteers who contribute their time, blood and financial support; those who give with no expectation of being paid for their time.
"Without our volunteers, we would cease to exist," said Executive Director Diana Roemer.
What: National Volunteer Week 2009, Celebrating People in Action,
Where: Beltline Café, 325 S. South St., Freeport
When: April 24, 2009, 7:30 a.m.
Why:: In conjunction with Points of Light Institute and HandsOn Network—the nation’s largest volunteer organizing network, the American Red Cross Northwest Illinois Chapter honors those who dedicate themselves to taking action and bettering their communities. It’s also about inspiring, recognizing and encouraging people to seek out imaginative ways to engage in their communities — to put themselves at the center of social change.
Keynote speaker: Dr. Robert Willis, Executive Director, Rock River Chapter, Rockford, Illinois
More about the event: National Volunteer Week was established in 1974 by former President Richard Nixon and has grown exponentially each subsequent year, with literally thousands of volunteer projects and special events scheduled throughout the week. And with President Obama’s recent endorsement of the Serve America Act (www.bethechangeinc.org) and his call on Congress to support this vital piece of legislation, this year will be even more energizing and
inspiring.
For more information regarding National Volunteer Week activities, please visit:
www.nwilredcross.org or www.1-800-Volunteer.org.
The American Red Cross is a humanitarian organization led by volunteers and guided by its Congressional Charter and the fundamental principles of the International Red Cross movement.