Benfield winner of Giving Tree award

Kim Benfield was announced as the seventh annual Giving Tree award recipient by the Georgia College & State University Involved in Volunteer Efforts (GIVE) Center.

The award is presented each year in honor of a person or group that has made a difference in the lives of others. The award will be presented on April 22, at 4 p.m. in observance of Arbor Day. April is also designated as National Volunteer Month.

Benfield was chosen by her peers in the GIVE Center, including Director Kendall Stiles.

“She has really excelled at the GIVE Center. A lot of our increased participation and awareness among students is because of her,” said Stiles. “This is a way to say thanks to her for her hard work.”

Benfield is very proud to be the 2003 recipient of The Giving Tree award.

“I feel very grateful that I’m receiving The Giving Tree award. It makes me feel that my work over the past year is really appreciated, and it’s a very big honor to get this award,” said Benfield. “I am very honored because working in the GIVE Center has been the one constant throughout my entire college career. It makes me feel good to be recognized for my work and to know that I’ve been able to help people over the years.”

The award is a way for the GIVE Center to give back to the university by planting a tree on campus. The tree is planted with a marker, identifying the person the tree was planted for.

Benfield is delighted to be on the receiving end of the award this year.

“It’s kind of neat that I’ve worked with Kendall (Stiles) over the past three years in helping to choose the person and present The Giving Tree award, and now I’m the one getting it this year,” said Benfield.

Benfield is a senior at GC&SU majoring in Mass Communication. She has been a scholarship recipient for her work with the GIVE Center since 1999. She received the scholarship as a high school graduate for her volunteer work before attending GC&SU. Benfield will be the first GIVE Center scholarship student to graduate after working all four years with
the program.

Stiles is happy to recognize such a hard worker with this year’s Giving Tree.

“This award is a great way to show her our thanks for her work and dedication to the program over the years,” said Stiles.

Benfield has been awarded several times for her volunteer efforts through the GIVE Center. She was the recipient of the Daily Points of Light Foundation award in 2002. She also received the 13 WMAZ Volunteer “Straight From the Heart” award in October of 2001, while being a sophomore at GC&SU at the time. Benfield was the youngest person ever honored in the history of the award.

She is currently serving in her fourth year as the undergraduate assistant to Stiles.

Stiles feels very strongly about working with Benfield over the years.

“She came in with a drive and passion for volunteering,” said Stiles.
“She is my right hand person in the office. She is going to be extremely missed by many and I’m going to miss her personally.”

Working with the GIVE Center has been a very important part of Benfield’s experience at GC&SU.

“Now it has made me realize that I want to go into non-profit work as a career. The GIVE Center has shown me that non-profit is where my heart is,” said Benfield. “Helping out with the American Cancer Society and working with recruiting volunteers is really what I enjoy.”

Stiles is sure that Benfield will succeed in life because of her ability to work well with others.

“She has taken her volunteerism and used it to help her choose her career path,” said Stiles. “We’re very proud of her and will miss her dearly.”

Although she will be graduating at the end of this semester, Benfield is happy that she was able to grow with the GIVE Center over the past four years.

“I would like to continue to work with volunteering and the GIVE Center after graduation, if at all possible,” said Benfield. “I feel that the GIVE Center will always be a part of my heart and all that I do. I know that my experiences with volunteering and working in the GIVE Center will affect my future work and will be a part of everything I do.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 14 2003. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry