Southwest Human Development receives Governor’s Volunteer Service Award

The Arizona Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism awarded Southwest Human Development a Volunteer Service Award to recognize the agency’s mission to provide outstanding volunteer programs and community involvement opportunities.

Southwest Human Development expanded its volunteer-based initiatives in 2014 and it continues to evolve offering a range of opportunities that implement research-based volunteer practices.

“It’s really exciting to be recognized for the hard work that we’ve been doing with our volunteers,” said Annette Sutfin, Southwest Human Development’s volunteer engagement manager. “Our volunteer program has only been around for a short time so to see this kind of recognition is a big honor for us.”

In 2016, Southwest Human Development became certified as a Service Enterprise by Points of Light, the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service. The prestigious Service Enterprise Certification recognizes nonprofits ability effectively leverage the skills and talents of volunteers into core operations – an honor only 10 Arizona-based nonprofits have earned.

Volunteers have been a longstanding success across the agency in areas including Southwest Human Development’s Board of Directors, Head Start classrooms, fundraising events and more. Southwest Human Development offers a broad scope of volunteer opportunities for community members, corporate partners and families with children of all ages that range from Family Volunteer Days to Roaring 1920s-themed weekends and everything in between. Each volunteer opportunity offers a special experience to benefit Arizona families and children in need.

“Our volunteer program is continuously expanding,” said Sutfin. “Right now we work directly with 10 of our 40 programs. I’d love to see our volunteers involved at every level of our organization in the coming years.”

To learn more about current volunteer opportunities, visit swhd.org/volunteer