C&S announces that Dawna Cardenas of Keene, N.H. is Volunteer of the Year
In celebration of National Volunteer Week, C&S Wholesale Grocers is pleased to announce that Dawna Cardenas is the company's 2011 Volunteer of the Year.
Dawna, a demand planner for C&S, volunteers more than 1,000 hours each year with the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, a major event that raises awareness and funds in the fight against cancer. As the Chair of the event's planning committee, Dawna works year-round coordinating every detail of this 18-hour overnight fundraiser, from promotion, logistics and entertainment, to the part of the evening she finds most moving: lighting remembrance luminaria honoring loved ones lost to cancer. Dawna's commitment to the ACS grew from the loss of her beloved grandmother during her teen years, "Volunteering for the ACS gives me a way to help fight back and find a cure for cancer. When you're really committed to a cause you find the time to give."
Dawna became a candidate for the C&S Volunteer of the Year award by submitting a C&S Dollars for Doers application. A panel of company employees rated each application for spirit of volunteerism, leadership and the desire to make a difference in people's lives. Through the Dollars for Doers program, nonprofit organizations benefit twice, once from the C&S employee's contribution of time, and again from a C&S matching contribution of $1 per hour volunteered, to a maximum of 1,000 hours or $1,000.
C&S has selected a Volunteer of the Year since 2005. Past winners include:
2010 - Maria Precht, Upper Marlboro, Md., Junior League of Annapolis
2009 - Lem Rodriguez, Bethlehem, Pa., Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations
2008 - Don LaChance, Windsor Locks, Conn., Boy Scouts of America
2007 - Ron Stoddard, Lancaster, N.Y., T.J. Dulski Community Center
2006 - Nichole Ellis, Montgomery, N.Y., New Day Food Pantry
2005 - Lisa Bassick, Brattleboro, Vt., Prevent Child Abuse Vermont
