We celebrate National Volunteer Week 2021 April 18 – 24. It is an opportunity to recognize the incredible people who donate their time, talent and voice to support our organization throughout the year. Volunteers play a vital role in the success of our organization and have a significant impact on the quality of our neighbor’s lives. They deserve to be recognized for their hard work and dedication, especially in 2020. Many of our neighbors would not have made it through 2020 without the assistance of volunteers. They helped the most vulnerable by providing basic needs, offering educational support, gathering items for health kits, remote volunteering through creating senior citizen packages, and much more.
This year, we honor two individuals who stepped up during the pandemic of 2020 and volunteered to contribute their time and talents in a tremendous way and embody the spirit of volunteerism.
Award recipients will be honored with a certificate of recognition and gift basket, as well as in print and online during Volunteer Week 2021. They both are residents of Stark or Carroll County, provided essential organizational assistance in 2020, demonstrated innovation in transforming our community, showed outstanding volunteer leadership initiative, exemplified their dependability, provided significant, hands-on participation and involvement and made a positive impact on results.
Congratulations to the two 2021 National Volunteer Week award recipients, Scott Fitzpatrick and Gerald F. Schroer, Jr.
Scott Fitzpatrick (and wife Karen) helped Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital in Canton keep caregivers and patients safe in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic by pooling their resources and purchasing a XENEX Germ-zapping robot to disinfect areas in the Emergency Department and ICU. Scott made an impact providing a $103,000 Xenex germ-zapping robot that worked round the clock in the emergency department and COVID-19 patient care areas. Scott volunteers his time and uses his resources quietly to make positive social change. Through his incomparable act, his caring for the welfare of the health and safety of people in Stark and Carroll Counties and the region. he made a positive impact for the betterment of our community.
Gerald (Jerry) Schroer invited business leaders throughout the Stark County region to come together to create opportunity and positive social change for the African American and minority community. His efforts resulted in the creation of Stark County Community Moving Forward. His volunteer work is already making an impact in minority business opportunity, supply chain, internships, improved actions in food distribution, healthcare opportunities, and better equity for the African American community.
Jerry is a catalyst and his work has activated leaders, CEOs and key leaders of industry and healthcare, from all sectors of the community. He seeks to build a more vibrant, strong, and diverse community through inclusion. The movement’s promise is to support wealth creation and drive transformative change through all that we say, act, and do.
Thank you both for opening your hearts, changing lives and making our community a better place to live and work.