Marie Waddell describes herself as “the crazy lady at Walmart.” She’s the one with the packed grocery cart, buying for 66 kids. They are her kids in the sense that she takes responsibility for making sure students from lower income families at Ferber Elementary School in Appleton have enough to eat.

Her volunteer activity isn’t super human. It’s just effective, reliable and driven by caring. That’s exactly what we’re looking for in nominees for eight Celebrating Volunteers awards to be presented April 26 at the 21st annual Celebrating Volunteers Gala. Marie was presented with the 2017 Daniel P. Spalding Volunteer Educator Award. She divided her $5,000 prize money between the Ferber Elementary School Endowment Fund and CASA of the Fox Cities.

That’s just one of eight categories open to nominations. You can see all of last year’s honorees at www.celebratevolunteers.org, but more importantly, you can bring that kind of recognition to a worthy volunteer you know. But the time is short to get that person in the running. Nominations must be received by the end of day Monday, Feb. 5. Nominations can be submitted at this link.

The categories for volunteer recognition are:

• Business Partnership – Recognizes a business and a nonprofit that promote volunteerism and collaboration between the organizations, for the benefit of both. Criteria
  Award Sponsor: SECURA Insurance
• Health Care – Recognizes an individual or a group for improving the health and well-being of others through volunteerism. Criteria
  Award Sponsors: Ascension and ThedaCare
• Lifetime Volunteer Leadership – The Walter L. Rugland Community Service Award recognizes an individual who has, over many years, positively impacted the quality of life in the Fox Cities through his or her leadership. Criteria
  Award Sponsor: Thrivent Financial
• Mentoring – The Paul and Elaine Groth Mentoring Award recognizes an individual or group that has served as a mentor in the community and has made meaningful contributions to the quality of life in the Fox Cities. Criteria
  Award Sponsor: Mielke Family Foundation
• Volunteer Educator – The Dan P. Spalding Volunteer Educator Award recognizes an individual or a group for their volunteer efforts in our local schools. Criteria
  Award Sponsor: School Specialty
• Volunteer Leadership in the Arts – The Hanns Kretzschmar Award for Excellence in the Arts recognizes an individual for leadership and volunteer service in local arts organizations and activities. Criteria
  Award Sponsor: Thrivent Financial
• Volunteer of the Year – The Janet Berry Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes an individual or couple for exemplary volunteerism through one or multiple acts that have made the Fox Cities a better place to live. Criteria Award Sponsor: The Post-Crescent
• Youth Scholarship – Recognizes a high school senior who has demonstrated exceptional leadership in promoting volunteerism in the Fox Cities. Criteria
  Award Sponsor: Community First Credit Union

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