SACRAMENTO >> Two California religious organizations were honored during the 2016 Governor’s Volunteering and Service Awards.
California’s Nonprofit of the Year went to NextGen OC, Jewish Federation and Family Services of Orange County. This award honors a California nonprofit that has shown an extraordinary ability to leverage volunteers in service to their organization. NextGen OC, Jewish Federation and Family Services of Orange County is a 100 percent volunteer organization of 21-45 year olds who work on a number of service projects.
One of their successful events was “Tikkun for Troops” in which over 2,000 care packages were assembled for those deployed in service to our country by volunteers from the Orange County community. The care packages were assembled for the troops by over 200 volunteers, in 4 hours. They now have plans to double the amount of care packages for the 2016 year.
The nomination was submitted by a serviceman in Iraq.
The Service Spotlight Award was presented to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Los Angeles. This award honors a group or individual who has uniquely met a community need with the power of service. The 2015 Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles came with a need for tens of thousands of volunteers.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Los Angeles stepped in offering more than 10,000 volunteers for nearly two weeks, who worked tirelessly in different capacities along with the Southern California community. It was known as “one of the largest outpourings of community service in church history.”
“The men and women that we recognize today are California heroes,” said Gov. Jerry Brown. “Their generosity and dedication are a real inspiration.”
