The Volunteer Center of Santa Cruz County hosted its annual Be the Difference Awards on Wednesday, recognizing individuals, groups and businesses whose service strengthens the community through volunteerism.
Sisters Crystal, Jocelyn and Karina Martinez, Jacob’s Heart and the Full Hearts Program, Maurice Pacifico Carrillo, Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, and the Walnut Avenue Family & Women’s Center were among 50 recipients this year.
The Martinez sisters transformed personal hardships into purposeful service, according to the Volunteer Center. After Jocelyn’s cancer diagnosis, the three joined Jacob’s Heart to support families facing childhood cancer. The sisters also lead their school’s Hope Club for grieving youth.
Jacob’s Heart and the Full Heart Program deliver customized groceries to families navigating pediatric cancer. Each week, volunteers pack bags tailored to each family’s dietary and medical needs, serving roughly 100 families weekly.
At age 82, Carillo leads the Santa Cruz AIDS Project, raising $60,000 for the community. He also organizes the Sowing Seeds project, preserving the history of Filipino immigration and labor in the Pajaro Valley.
Led by Adair Paterno, Sante Adairius Rustic Ales is a women-owned brewery. Its partnership with the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter ignited the “St. Pittie’s Party” and beer labels benefiting spay and neuter funds.
Since its founding in 1933, the Walnut Avenue Family & Women’s Center has seen its volunteers provide community service and hosts domestic violence advocates and youth programs. Through its holiday gift drives and annual turkey drive, it remains a local source for Santa Cruz County residents.
The Volunteer Center is a nonprofit organization that operates four facilities and 22 programs, mobilizing over 15,000 volunteers who partner with more than 300 nonprofit and community agencies.
This year’s judges were Spencer Arburn, Audries Blake, Katie Denbo, Mark W. Ely, Katie Fairbairn, Jada Milhouse, Veronica Plascencia and Kristine Ronzano.
For more information about the Volunteer Center, visit its website.
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