Iowa's Top Volunteers to be Honored

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DES MOINES, Iowa β€“ Governor Kim Reynolds and Lt. Governor Adam Gregg will induct the 2024 Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame members and present the Excellence in Mentoring awards to two individuals in a ceremony at the Iowa State Capitol building on Tuesday, April 30 at 3:00pm.

Being selected for the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame is the most prestigious state level honor volunteers can receive as recognition of extraordinary donations of volunteer service to their communities. The 2024 Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame inductees are:

  • Robert (Bob) Allbee, Muscatine
  • Celeste M. Lawson, Des Moines
  • Vicki Leonard, Dubuque
  • Daniel L. Lopez, Des Moines
  • Refugee and Immigrant Association, Iowa City
  • SALUD – Multicultural Health Center of Storm Lake, Storm Lake

The Excellence in Mentoring Awards gives Iowa MENTOR certified programs the opportunity to recognize outstanding long-time youth mentors. The recipients of the 2024 Excellence in Mentoring Award are:

  • John Ferguson, Hamburg
  • Yvonne Lyons, Bettendorf
  • Nicki Mullins, Ankeny
  • Indira Velazquez, West Des Moines

Profiles of the Volunteer Hall of Fame inductees and Excellence in Mentoring Award recipients are viewable online.

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Electronic photographs will be available shortly after the ceremony at www.volunteeriowa.org or by sending a request, including the name of the award recipient, to info@volunteeriowa.org.

About Volunteer Iowa

Volunteer Iowa, a bureau within the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (Iowa HHS), and its partner agencies work with organizations and individuals on three main fronts. The first is to help agencies develop quality programs that use service as a strategy to fulfill their missions and address Iowa’s greatest areas of need. The second is to help engage Iowans in their communities by promoting service and expanding the volunteer base. Finally, the third area of work is to connect individuals with appropriate service opportunities by building the volunteer infrastructure.

About Iowa MENTOR

Iowa MENTOR serves as the certifying body for youth mentoring programs in Iowa, advancing the quality of the mentoring field by providing professional development; engaging stakeholders to increase the number of mentors; and creating awareness of the positive benefits of youth mentoring as a proven youth development strategy. Iowa MENTOR is a collaborative program of Volunteer Iowa, within Iowa HHS, and works to build relationships between government, private, and public agencies in support of youth mentoring which is essential for strengthening families, communities and the state of Iowa.

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Media Contact

Alex Murphy, Iowa HHS Director of Communications, alex.murphy@hhs.iowa.gov