USAID Recognizes La Crosse, Milwaukee Health Partnership Volunteers
On July 12, 28 individuals and seven health care organizations in La Crosse, Wisconsin were honored for their volunteer service facilitated through the USAID-supported American International Health Alliance (AIHA) to improve health care in countries of the former Soviet Union. USAID Bureau for Europe & Eurasia Chief of Staff Brock D. Bierman spoke and distributed Presidential Volunteer Service Awards at two separate ceremonies.
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| Keynote speaker and E&E Chief of Staff Brock D. Bierman (far right) was joined by (from left) Mayor Valery Prokh of Dubna, Russia, Kate Schecter of the American International Health Alliance, and Sandra McCormick of World Services of La Crosse at a luncheon ceremony honoring 28 local volunteers |
In his remarks at luncheon ceremony to recognize individual volunteers, Bierman emphasized that volunteerism is much more than just a kind thing to do. “Your efforts save lives, deliver hope, and represent the core values we share as Americans. Americans reach out to people in need. We believe that all people are equal. We believe in the intrinsic value of each human being, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or nationality. These convictions compel us, as Americans, to act, to share, to serve. Through these acts, we honor the spirit of service, a uniquely American trait, which is at the heart of the very best of ourselves, and of our great nation.”
Other featured guests attending the day-long series of La Crosse events included La Crosse Mayor Mark Johnsrud, AIHA Program Officer Kate Schecter, and from Dubna, Russia, Mayor Valery Prokh, Deputy Mayor Nikolay Madfes, Health Services Chief Sergey Riabov, and Director of Parks and Grounds Vladimir Negey.
On behalf of his city, Mayor Prokh thanked the La Crosse area volunteers for their work, which has contributed greatly to health care advances in Dubna. Similarly, Schecter thanked the volunteers on behalf of her organization
Staff and volunteers affiliated with World Services of La Crosse, a locally-based nonprofit organization, in cooperation with AIHA and Sister Cities, have been involved in planning and implementing community development projects in Dubna since 1992. Health-related project highlights have included a health reform/quality improvement project, a diabetes program and the development of a major orthotics production center, all of which became models for Russia. Women’s health has also been a major focus with the opening of a women’s wellness center and a modern birthing center. In recent years, the Dubna partners have, in turn, served as consultants to other cities in Russia, providing leadership for some projects such as a Reproductive Health Program in four cities in the Moscow Oblast. World Services and its volunteers have also been responsible for implementing major health care projects in Ukraine and Georgia. World Services Executive Director Sandra McCormick was among a select few Wisconsin honorees who received the President’s Call to Service Award for contributing more than 4,000 volunteer hours.
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