LANSING, Mich. — Gov. Rick Snyder announced the 40 finalists for the 2013 Governor’s Service Awards. The finalists, including Denso, have been selected from more than 140 individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations from across the state who were nominated for their commitment to volunteer service.
"I recently kicked off the Do Something, Michigan! initiative that encouraged Michiganders to take action in their communities through volunteerism," Snyder said. "The 40 finalists who will be recognized at the 2013 Governor’s Service Awards are an extraordinary example of that Do Something! spirit. I thank them for their contribution to our state."
The finalists will be honored at an awards ceremony entitled, "An Evening with the Stars" on Tuesday, July 23, at the Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids. The 2013 Governor’s Service Awards will be a theater-style event highlighting award presentations and featuring performances by Michigan musical artists and performers, all paying tribute to the honorees.
The Governor’s Service Awards are an annual statewide recognition event acknowledging the contributions made by Michigan volunteers. This celebration is made possible only through the generous contributions of its sponsors. To date, those sponsors include: Amway, Comer Holdings, Ford Motor Co., Lear and Meijer.
The event is coordinated by the Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC), the state’s lead agency on volunteerism. The MCSC strives to engage all Michigan citizens in volunteerism to address critical community challenges. It is part of the Michigan Department of Human Services.
Corporate Community Leader Award
Corporations and businesses that excel in community involvement are honored with this award. This kind of commitment is made by all employees, both hourly and salaried, and can take many forms including, but not limited to, corporate volunteer programs, monetary contributions, in-kind gifts and employee-driven volunteer service. The finalists are:
•DENSO Manufacturing of Battle Creek is a global supplier of advanced automotive technology, systems and components. For the past 12 years, DENSO employees have been a strong community partner and advocate for veterans at the Battle Creek Veterans Affairs Medical Center. In 2001, a group of DENSO employees were part of a founding group of volunteers who started a "Breakfast Club" in the Palliative Care Unit of the hospital. This club, which serves terminally ill veterans, provides patients and their families with a home-cooked breakfast one day a week. In addition to volunteering their time to the club one day each month, DENSO employees also purchase breakfast items as personal donation. Over the years, the 60 DENSO employees have grown even more committed to the program and have offered to pick up three additional days each month, now covering one breakfast each week for a total volunteer service of 1,600 hours. In addition to serving the Breakfast Club, employees also volunteer for area veterans by helping out with the Annual Day of Caring Event, Christmas Gift Distribution program, and by cleaning monuments at the Fort Custer Veterans Cemetery.
•The Eaton Corp. in Galesburg is just one division of the global leader in electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power management solutions. With more than 100,000 employees in 150 counties, the Eaton Corp. employs 450 people at its vehicle group, truck division location in Galesburg. Along with their corporate leaders, employees in the vehicle group, truck division are committed to making a positive, lasting difference in the communities where they work and live. Through their dedication, they helped to create the Bigs in Business program in 2004. This program, operated through the local Big Brothers, Big Sisters organization, has connected more than 70 local Kalamazoo area youth with mentors at the Eaton Galesburg office. Vehicle group, truck division employees were also founding sponsors of the Kalamazoo Literacy Council’s Scrabble Fest, Comstock Community Center’s Ready, Set, Grow fundraiser, and the United Way of Southwest Michigan First’s United for Change initiative, which focuses on early-age education. In total, the vehicle group, truck division supports more than 100 community agencies each year through more than 10,000 hours of employee volunteer service and nearly $600,000 in employee donations and corporate contributions.
•The General Motors Foundation in Detroit is the philanthropic arm of motor giant General Motors (GM). Founded in 1976, the GM Foundation has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to deserving U.S. charities, educational organizations and disaster relief efforts since its inception. Though they have partner plants in 30 different countries, GM and the GM Foundation have kept a sharp focus on the revitalization of Michigan over the years, Detroit in particular. This focus resulted in GM awarding nearly $1 million to 88 Michigan youth for their college education through the Buick Achievers’ program in 2012, as well as the distribution of $11.5 million to Michigan organizations through 228 grants. Among these grants was a continuation of the "Network of Excellence" grant that GM provided the United Way of Southeast Michigan in 2011. This grant, the largest ever received by United Way, has allowed them to support an innovative turnaround in seven metro-Detroit high schools. Helping to support this school turnaround is the assistance of 153 GM employees who gave nearly 2,000 hours of service to Network of Excellence schools in 2012. In addition their service to the Detroit education system, GM employees have supported a number of other causes as well, with 3,653 employees giving nearly 40,000 hours of service last year alone.
