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Corporate Social Responsibility
News
2.19.2008 - 12:00pm ET
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CSR News from:
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Volvo Cars of North America
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Volvo Unveils Sixth Annual Hometown Hero Award Winners
Each Volvo for life Hero Will Receive $100,000 in Support of Their Causes
Since 2002, Volvo has contributed nearly $5 million in funding and awards to help real-life heroes continue extraordinary work in their communities
(CSRwire) IRVINE, CA - February 19, 2008 - Volvo today announced the top three
winning heroes in the 6th Annual Volvo for life Awards: Marilyn Adams from
Iowa for Safety, Oregon's Lorraine Kerwood for environmental care and
Minnesota's Matthew Sanford for the Quality of Life category. Each of
these heroic individuals displayed courage, innovation and unyielding
commitment to their causes and they have touched the lives of thousands of
people throughout the United States.
After a tragic farm accident involving her son, Adams founded Farm Safety
4 Just Kids and set out on a mission to promote safe farm environments
across the country. Sanford, paralyzed from the chest down, is a
nationally recognized yoga teacher, author and founder of Mind Body
Solutions, a nonprofit organization dedicated to revolutionizing the
rehabilitation process. Kerwood created an electronics recycling and
distribution center, NextStep Recycling, which brings refurbished
computers to disadvantaged communities and benefits the environment by
reducing electronic waste. Now, they will be honored with our country's
most prestigious hero awards.
Adams, Kerwood and Sanford each will receive a $100,000 contribution from
Volvo to the charity of their choice and will be recognized at the Volvo
for life Awards Ceremony at New York City's world famous Cipriani's 42nd
Street on March 19. During the ceremony one overall Grand Award winner
will be named "America's Greatest Hometown Hero" and will be presented
with a new Volvo every three years for the rest of his or her life.
"In our sixth year of the Volvo for life Awards, we once again are in awe
of the accomplishments of every one of the heroes that were nominated by
the American public. The top 40 semifinalists, the 12 finalists and of
course these three amazing people—Marilyn, Lorraine and Matthew—have
taken it upon themselves to change and improve our communities," said Anne
Bélec, president and chief executive officer for Volvo Cars of North
America. "Speaking on behalf of everyone at Volvo, I want to commend and
thank all of them. It is our honor to pay tribute to the great and lasting
work they are doing."
The
Volvo for life Awards, launched in 2002, is the largest-ever national
search for and celebration of everyday heroes in the categories of Safety,
Quality of Life and Environment. Volvo Cars of North America provides $1
million in awards and contributions in honor of heroes. Since the
inception of the program, Volvo has contributed more than $5 million to
help hometown heroes continue their extraordinary work in their
communities.
The American public selected nine finalists, three in each category of
Safety, Quality of Life and Environment. A distinguished panel of
judges—including Hank Aaron, Sen. Bill Bradley, Maya Lin, Dr. Sally
Ride, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Dr. Mae Jemison and Edsel B. Ford II—then
selected the three category winners, who are:
Safety
Marilyn Adams, Earlham, Iowa
Twenty years ago, Marilyn Adams, 57, faced every mother's greatest fear.
Her 11- year-old son, Keith, suffocated in a gravity flow wagon while
helping with the first full day of harvest on the family's farm in Iowa.
Determined to find a constructive outlet for her grief, she was inspired
to create a nonprofit organization working to educate children about farm
safety and health. Today, thousands of volunteers across the United States
and Canada work to keep rural kids safe and healthy. In 1987, Adams founded
Farm Safety 4 Just Kids and set out on a mission to promote safe farm
environments and eliminate farm-related child health hazards, injuries and
fatalities. A report by the National Safety Council found that children
between the ages of 5 and 14 were 66 percent more likely to be injured in
a farm accident than adults aged 45 to 64. Farm Safety 4 Just Kids'
contribution to the farm safety movement has helped to reduce the number
of agriculture-related fatalities among children in the United States.
Farm families now have additional programs and educational materials
highlighting the dangers that children can encounter on farms, and
information about how to avoid them. Farm Safety 4 Just Kids now has 137
chapters throughout North America. Through her visits to rural schools,
media appearances, testimony before government agencies and in Congress,
Adams has spread her farm safety message across the country.
Environment
Lorraine Kerwood, Eugene, Ore.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States
generated 2.6 million tons of electronic waste in 2005, only 12.6 percent
of which was recycled. Lorraine Kerwood, 47, has set out to improve this
statistic. Her computer recycling and distribution center, NextStep
Recycling, brings refurbished computers to disadvantaged communities and
benefits the environment by reducing electronic waste. While attending the
University of Oregon, Kerwood taught herself how to rebuild computers,
which she then gave to people who couldn't afford them. With her new skill
set, and her passion for helping the disadvantaged, Kerwood established
NextStep Recycling. The organization has recycled more than 800 tons of
electronic waste and placed 11,000 computers in disadvantaged communities
in the United States and abroad. More than 500 computers have been shipped
to rural Guatemalan schools, orphanages and non-governmental organizations.
This has drawn the attention of corporate, government and academic
institutions. Tulane University studied NextStep's computer labs built in
partnership with rural Mayan communities. They determined that the labs
improved the lives of more than 5,000 Guatemalan children.
Quality of Life
Matthew Sanford, Orono, Minn.
At age 13, Matthew Sanford was involved in a car crash that took the lives
of his father and sister, and left him paralyzed from the chest down.
Advice from his doctors to "forget his lower body," however, was what
really crippled Sanford, leading him to ignore his once-athletic body,
until he discovered yoga at age 25 and the power of the mind-body
connection. Now a nationally recognized yoga teacher, author and renowned
expert in mind-body integration who has inspired and enhanced the lives of
thousands. In 2001, Sanford, 42, founded Mind Body Solutions, a nonprofit
organization dedicated to the simple and practical notion that minds and
bodies work better together, offering programs in the workplace, in
corporations, at the yoga studio and in the community at large. Sanford
teaches yoga to people of all abilities at the Courage Center in
Minneapolis and at fitness studios throughout the country, but he is a
pioneer in adapting yoga for people living with disabilities. Sanford also
shares his philosophy on the fundamental importance of the mind-body
relationship for everyone through his personal memoir Waking: A Memoir of
Trauma and Transcendence, and a busy schedule of speaking engagements to a
broad base of audiences nationwide. He is currently using his personal
experience to help transform the delivery of healthcare, including an
initiative for veterans.
The six remaining finalists in the 6th Annual Volvo for life Awards will
receive a donation of $25,000 to the charities of their choice. The
remaining finalists are:
Safety:
Ronald Dunon, 58, Kalamazoo, Mich., who founded the AED Fund of
Kalamazoo County to help increase the chances of survival for future
sudden cardiac arrest victims in underserved communities.
Jeff Payne, 40, Las Vegas, Nev., who teaches thousands of
youth how to avoid vehicle accidents and drive safely through his program
"Driver's Edge."
Quality of Life:
John Dau, 35, Syracuse, N.Y., who has raised $700,000 to improve
healthcare and literacy in southern Sudan.
Darius Weems, 18, Athens, Ga., who works to raise money for
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) research through "Darius Goes West," a
documentary that chronicles his courageous journey across America, his
first time ever outside of Georgia.
Environment:
Zander Srodes, 17, Cape Haze, Fla., who has educated more than
5,000 students about sea turtle conservation through a series of
educational presentations called "Turtle Talks."
Charles Turner, 48, Sedley, Va., who founded the
Blackwater-Nottoway Riverkeeper Program, which mobilizes individuals to
patrol rivers looking for signs of pollution and educate others about the
importance of clean, wild waterways.
Alexandra Scott Butterfly Award Winner Unveiled
In addition to the three category winners, Volvo also named 10-year-old
Zach Bonner, of Valrico, Fla., the winner of the Alexandra Scott
Butterfly Award. The award was created by Volvo Cars of North America to
honor young heroes who do the extraordinary in the areas of Safety,
Quality of Life and Environment in the name of Alexandra Scott, a Volvo
for life Awards winner from Wynnewood, Pa., who passed away at age eight
from cancer. She raised more than $1 million for pediatric cancer research
through lemonade sales and other fundraising activities. Parents Jay and
Elizabeth Scott continue promoting Alex’s cause and raising money for
pediatric cancer research through their foundation, Alex's Lemonade Stand
Foundation.
Bonner, who will receive a $25,000 charitable donation, founded the Little
Red Wagon Foundation, Inc., an organization that collects and donates
backpacks filled with food and school items to disadvantaged children
nationwide. In late 2007, Bonner completed a marathon walk from Tampa to
Tallahassee, Fla. covering - 280 miles over 23 days, raising money and
awareness for homeless children along the way.
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