During the next few weeks, we will be profiling the winners of the 2012 Service Impact Awards. Look for their stories and videos here on the blog.

 

The Coulee Region RSVP in La Crosse, Wisconsin, collaborates with Gundersen Lutheran Health System's environmental stewardship program to mitigate some of the waste that was being sent to the county's landfill and reuse the material to help others in the hospital.

Every day, a material known as “blue wrap” is used at Gundersen Lutheran's facilities to wrap surgical instrument trays for the operating rooms. Following the sterilization of the trays, they are unwrapped and the blue wrap is thrown away. This material, which is responsible for 19 percent of the waste generated from surgical services nationwide, can only be used once before it is discarded.

Thanks to the Coulee Region RSVP, surgical wrap that once would have made its way to the landfill is being repurposed and used as aprons for adult and pediatric oncology patients as they participate in healing arts activities, as bedrail bags for patients during long-term stays, as tote bags for educational materials, as wheelchair/walker bags for rehab and therapy patients, as personal item caddies, and as breast cancer patient care bags.

Since the program's inception in August 2011, 20 volunteers have saved more than 575 pounds of material from the local landfill by creating 932 items currently being used at Gundersen Lutheran.

The Coulee Region RSVP was selected as the winner in the Environmental Stewardship category in the 2012 National Service Impact Awards.

Earlier this summer, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the graduation of 22 Green City Force AmeriCorpsmembers in New York City. Green City Force recruits young adults, ages 18-24, who are currently unemployed or underemployed high school graduates or GED-holders from low-income neighborhoods.
 

Inspired by President Obama's call to action, a group of Council on Environmental Quality interns volunteered on Earth Day, knowing that even a seemingly small effort can make a large impact. UsingServe.gov,they found an opportunity to help remove non-native plants in Rock Creek Park. After a trip on the metro, a bus ride, and a short walk,they arrived at the Rock Creek Nature Center and Planetarium.
 

Wow! What a special day it was! On King Day, January 18, 2010, Boulevard Townhomes (BTH) came to life as the children put aside their own desires to make life for some local senior citizens a little bit fresher.
 

In preparing for Monday's Energy Canvass in honor of the MLK Day of Service, I restored in my mind Dr. King's vision of the attainable "Beloved Community," where the all-inclusive spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood nurtures an environment of conversation, reconciliation, and progress. Over 40 volunteers of all ages joined WeatherizeDC Monday ready to serve and in pursuit of this Beloved Community, but in a bit of a new way: by talking about energy.
 

Wyoming County, WV, 4-H FLOW, an AmeriCorps Learn and Serve grantee of the West Virginia Commission for National and Community Service, completed more than 500 hours of watershed service-learning projects.
 

Volunteers have the power to transform their community. As co-founder of Friends of the San Jose Rose Garden, I have witnessed how people of all ages and abilities can come together to make a difference, transform neglect into beauty, and inspire change in other communities. In less than two years, volunteers took a historic landmark park from probation to elation. This is our story.
 

Our project is the landscaping and on-going care of the grounds of the new Hospice House of St. Mary's County.
 

In celebration of Global Youth Service Day 2009, high school students in El Paso planted tree seedlings behind three major non-profit organizations to provide a windbreak and safety screen for their outdoor areas.
 

Green Road Community Center in Raleigh has a brand new playground today thanks to a coordinated effort of 200 volunteers from Foresters™ and the community who erected the facility.
 

Our team members grab a cup of coffee, some eggs and bacon, a tool, and a hardhat – and the day’s adventure begins.
 

 he current economic downturn and challenges of raising a family in the 21st century has an impact on young boys.
 

To honor the first annual 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance, Rebuilding Together partnered with United We Serve to distribute 50,000 outreach bags filled with energy efficient savings information in 19 states.
 

EPA's ENERGY STAR and Boys & Girls Club offer Dallas homeowner a youthful energy check-up.
 

The high cost of energy in rural Alaska prompted a VISTA member serving with the Rural Alaska Community Action Program to look into using the local hot springs as an energy source.
 

Creating a New Path is a Learn and Serve America subgrantee at CASMAN Alternative Academy in Manistee, Michigan. Students at the school recognized a need for a better place to walk dogs instead of down a dirt road.
 

California Lutheran University students partnered with the City of Ventura for a Ventura Riverbed Cleanup.
 

Crenshaw High School opened in 1968 in the historic Crenshaw District of South Los Angeles. Students here face more than the normal teenage dramas; they also deal with shifting cultural alliances and the threat of gang violence. 85% qualify for the Free/Reduced Lunch Program. Out of these difficult circumstances, the Crenshaw Eco Club has risen to become the largest and most ethnically diverse club on campus.
 

Students at Woodmere Middle School on Long Island completed a service-learning project at the Town of Hempstead's Marine Nature Study Area in honor of the 16th Annual National Public Lands Day. They lent a helping hand to Long Island's tidal wetlands, which provide protection for shellfish, small fish, mirgratory birds, and other animals.
 

On the first-ever September 11 Day of Service and Remembrance, young people from across the nation planted trees in Keystone, Colorado, to honor fallen heroes and increase their knowledge of nature.
 

This August, a group of Girls Inc girls at our Brooklyn site volunteered at Rooftop Farms in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
 

UPS employees have completed a project that benefits both Atlanta residents and the environment. These employee volunteers transformed a small patch of unused land into a garden full of hearty produce: corn, onions, okra, squash, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, carrots, beans, sweet potatoes and watermelon now fill a space that was previously vacant and unattractive.
 

The Northeast Ecological Corridor, protected as a Nature Reserve in April 2008, lies between the towns of Luquillo and Fajardo on Puerto Rico's northeastern shoreline. Its 3,200 acres include forests, wetlands, beaches, coral communities, a bioluminescent lagoon and one of the hottest surfing spots on Puerto Rico's east coast: "La Selva" (the jungle).
 

 When I first found out I’d be interning in the New York City Mayor’s Office this summer, I resigned myself to a summer of desk work, with perhaps some filing thrown in for variety. So imagine my surprise when I began working at NYC Service, an office launched by Mayor Bloomberg in April in response to President Obama’s national call to service.
 

Eastern Colorado experiences blizzard conditions every winter. Living snowfences are tree plantings strategically planned to provide protection along roadways by capturing wind driven snow, keeping snow and ice from creating driving hazards. In my career, I have coordinated or participated in 36 living snowfence plantings.
 

In 2007 we started the Boston Latin School Youth Climate Action Network as a student led extracurricular club devoted to helping the environment.
 

When Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated asked its members to support United We Serve’s Summer Service Initiative, the ladies of the Xi Zeta Omega Chapter located in Washington, DC, joined right in to provide “service to all mankind.”
 

Students at Von Steuben High School painted a 15-foot mural depicting their experiences at Foster Beach in Chicago. The mural is a daily reminder of more than six years of monthly stewardship and seasonal adventures. “I like knowing that the trash we help to remove from the beach makes things better,” says teacher CarolLynn Chmielewski, who has headed the Von Steuben High School Environmental Action Club in adopting and caring for Foster Beach.
 

Cisco employees decided that they wanted to “make an impact” and not just “write a check” for the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens in downtown San Jose, an area maintained entirely by volunteers. Thirty-eight Cisco employees rolled up their sleeves to clean and provide maintenance for the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens
 

My name is Carolyn and I am a volunteer at the Piney Creek Watershed Association (PCWA). I am so grateful that I was introduced to PCWA because it is a wonderful group of people who have a passion for the community, access to clean water and protecting the environment.