REACH OUT VOLUNTEER NAMED NON-PROFIT VOLUTEER OF THE YEAR

A volunteer from Reach Out Morongo Basin was honored as Non-Profit Volunteer of the Year at an awards ceremony sponsored by the Academy of Grass-Roots Organizations last week in Victorville. Carrie Hendrickson started volunteering for Reach Out in 2009 through the welfare-to-work program, CalWorks. She was hired as an administrative assistant at Reach Out in 2011, but continued her volunteer activities at the interfaith organization. Hendrickson helps plan fundraising and community events, and works at the organization’s booth at events, all in her spare time of being a single mother, a full-time student with a 3.45 GPA, and a full-time employee. Hendrickson said she was shocked and honored to be chosen as employee of the year by the Academy of Grass-Roots Organizations. She said she just tries to help people and make a difference in their lives. About 300 organizations are part of the Academy of Grass-Roots Organizations.