At the heart of the Junior League of Collin County (JLCC) is volunteerism. Since their inception 42 years ago, JLCC has contributed over 750,000 volunteer hours to nonprofits serving the Collin County community.
To celebrate and encourage volunteerism throughout the Collin County region, JLCC hosts the annual Excellence in Volunteer Service Awards to honor local volunteers and organizations who are changing our community for good. Held at Aristide in McKinney, Christal Howard of Community Impact served as the Master of Ceremonies and Dr. John Siburt of CitySquare was the keynote speaker. Special guests included McKinney Mayor Fuller and Congressman Van Taylor’s office who provided additional recognition to the honorees. Sewell Audi of McKinney served as the title sponsor of the luncheon and was joined by the following additional partners: Gittings, Market Street, Bliss Body & Barre and Community Impact.
2019 Collin County Excellence in Volunteer Service Award honorees:
- SRS Distribution & Raise the Roof Foundation, Community Business Partner of the Year
- Chloe Frohock, Youth Volunteer of the Year nominated by Heritage Farmstead Museum
- Trisha Cunningham, Nonprofit Professional of the Year, North Texas Food Bank
- My Possibilities, Nonprofit Organization of the Year
- QC Stone and The Source of Hope, Junior League of Collin County Spirit Award
ABOUT THE HONOREES
The Youth Volunteer of the Year recognizes an outstanding student who makes a difference in Collin County and serves as an inspiration to their community through their volunteer and leadership activities. Honoree, Chloe Frohock has given over 2,500 hours of volunteer service in the past eight years to Heritage Farmstead Museum. She has helped with summer camps, special events and children’s programs. Her community outreach has included visits to elementary schools, appearances on Good Morning Texas, as well as getting involved in local city government. She was instrumental in inspiring the staff at the Heritage Farmstead Museum to begin a Jr. FFA program in 2014. She has devoted herself to changing the community by volunteering her time and creativity to the Heritage Farmstead Museum.
The Community Business Partner of the Year is awarded to a company that is committed to making their community a priority for their organization through partnerships with nonprofits and active employee volunteerism. The 2019 honoree is SRS Distribution and SRS Raise the Roof Foundation for its support of countless homeless, military and disaster-affected families during critical times of need by partnering with organizations like The Samaritan Inn and CASA of Collin County through hands-on volunteering, donation drives and fundraising.
New for 2019, the Nonprofit Professional of the Year recognizes a paid employee of a Collin County nonprofit organization who exhibits excellence in their leadership role and a passion for their organization’s mission. Honoree, Trisha Cunningham is CEO of the North Texas Food Bank, a $130 million organization focused on eradicating hunger in North Texas by providing families access to nutritious food. Last year alone, the North Texas Food Bank provided access to nearly 72 million nutritious meals, distributed over 21 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables and hosted over 40,000 volunteers.
The 2019 Nonprofit Organization of the Year honoree is My Possibilities which serves over 650 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) every week. Their mission is to pursue the full, untapped possibilities of Hugely Important People, also known as HIPsters, and provide them with a path to inclusion and a meaningful life. Their programs teach HIPsters how to live, work, and participate in their communities. As a pioneering leader in vocational education and job placement for adults with IDD, this agency’s programs are setting the standard for programs that move adults with IDD towards greater independence.
The Collin County Volunteer of the Year celebrates an individual whose extraordinary hands-on volunteer service at nonprofits strengthens the Collin County community. Trish Patterson is a driving force empowering others through collaboration to work together to support a collective mission. She is recognized for her recent contribution to The Source of Hope’s Holiday Feeding which served over 7,000 families in 2018.
Each year an individual or organization stands out among the nominees and is deserving of the Junior League of Collin County Spirit Award that recognizes a significant gift of leadership and stewardship to many over the years and represents a pillar of the volunteer community. In 2009, this honoree, QC Stone founded a nonprofit organization, The Source of Hope, with a mission to empower low income cosmetology students by providing assistance through educational programs, grants, and scholarships. The mission has evolved to include helping families in transition become financially stable, independent households. In addition, they provide a source of hope to the local community with free or reduced cosmetic services and various social outreach programs. Examples of services include custom wig creation for children receiving chemotherapy, free cosmetic treatments for adults to help them during their interview process, and serving hot meals to thousands on a monthly basis.