What a Celebration! 47th OneOC Spirit of Volunteerism celebrating 3,000+ Orange County volunteers
What is the most popular form of philanthropy?
You might think of weekly religious contributions or charitable fund drives.
But the most popular form of philanthropy is volunteering, done by millions of Americans and which creates equal philanthropic value to the combined financial contributions of all individuals, companies, foundations, and others. To me, this is simply amazing!
So it was particularly rewarding to join over 750 others in celebrating volunteerism at the 47th OneOC Spirit of Volunteerism Awards Event April 20 at the Grove of Anaheim. Those who attended understand and highly value these contributors, and the pride and joy on their faces was everywhere. Indeed, many of those attending nominated some 3,000 volunteers who were all honored at the event. I was proud to nominate colleagues and friends that are amazing volunteers: Lee Goldberg, Marla Noel, Julie Cho, Traci Shirachi, and Paula Garcia-Arsenault.
I volunteer at OneOC, OC Advisors in Philanthropy, the Institute for Community Impact, and Working Wardrobes.
My fellow OneOC Board Members Denise Scott and Andrea Mullins Co-Chaired this incredible event. Their committee and the OneOC staff helped create a wonderfully warm program that was enjoyed by all while celebrating the great contributions of so many incredible volunteers in our community. While 3,000 individual stories are overwhelming, we did hear the unique stories of 3 of these volunteers and how they’ve changed other people’s lives.
Every volunteer experience is different, but everyone is important. Young or old, we all have something to contribute that will help others learn, grow and thrive. Imagine the impact we’d make if we’d each invite one other person to volunteer! Not only community impact but also individual impact as these new volunteers would discover for themselves the power of philanthropy to change lives for the better.
Now that’s Living a Richer Life.
