The Mingo County Partners in Prevention, which is led by the Mingo County Family Resource Network, hosted their annual Champion for Children Awards luncheon on Thursday, April 29th in the Mountaineer Hotel ballroom. Mingo County Family Resource Network Executive Director Amy Dearfield-Hannah presided over the program.
The program was opened with a poem about child abuse read by awards planning committee member, Carolyn Dillard. After the reading, Hannah began announcing the winners for 2021.
The 2021 Champion for Children award winners are:
Tree of Life Baby Pantry led by Rosemary Dillon;
GFWC-WV Tug Valley Area Juniorettes Club led by Shelby Porter and Carrie Digman;
Pandemic Champion for Children Award Presented to Mingo County Schools Nutrition and Transportation Departments represented by Don Spence, Kay Maynard, and Johnny Branch.
Nominators of the winners were also given the opportunity to speak to the guests to explain why they nominated the individuals or groups.
According to Hannah, while people who truly desire to make a difference are not looking for any type of accolades and do not care who receives credit, the Mingo County Partners in Prevention team feels as though they deserve to be recognized for their efforts to improve the lives of our children and families.
To be considered for this recognition, The Mingo County Partners in Prevention Steering Committee takes nominations for the award through the Mingo County Family Resource Network members of the community. All nominees and the explanations as to why they should be chosen are shared at a meeting, and then voting takes place. Hannah tells us they have representatives from businesses, service organizations, community representation, and families with lived experience on the committee.
“To be considered for the award, we ask that nominees be those that go above and beyond for our children and families. We look for nominations of agencies or individuals who either do more than what their duty calls them to do or those that volunteer with passion,” explains Hannah.
Hannah adds, “These awards make me think of the saying, ‘To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world,’ and we should all want to be that one person for someone. We never know how even the smallest of efforts can impact others in the largest of ways.”
From Williamson Forward, we extend our congratulations to the 2021 Champion for Children Award winners! Also, thank you to the Mingo County Family Resource Network and Mingo County Partners in Prevention Committee for all of the work you do to improve the lives of children in our communities.
Tree of Life: https://www.facebook.com/1w3456789/
Tug Valley Area Juniorettes Club: https://www.facebook.com/TVAJuniorettes/
Mingo County Schools: https://www.mingoschools.com/
Mingo County Family Resource Network: https://www.facebook.com/MingoCountyFRN/