Hall dances her way to the top through volunteer work

Each weekday across our country, one volunteer or volunteer effort is awarded the Daily Point of Light Award for their prestigious actions illustrating a commitment to connect Americans through service. On Sept. 15, GC&SU’s very own Amy Hall, a senior mass communications major, received this award.

Hall was nominated and selected for the Daily Point of Light Award because of the many hours and efforts she has spent working on the Dance Marathon, a 12-hour fundraiser for the Children’s Miracle Network.

Kendall Stiles, founder and director of the GIVE Center and an advisor at GC&SU, nominated Hall for this honor.

Hall’s volunteer work has focused on efforts for children and youth, and all proceeds go directly to supporting children’s hospitals. Last year, Hall helped raise over $3,000 for the children’s hospital in Macon, Ga. Nearly 50 people participated in the event.

Former President George Bush Sr. originally started the Points of Light movement and because of Hall’s accomplishments, President George W. Bush, George Bush Sr. and CEO Robert Goodwin have all sent her special letters of congratulations for her arduous work. In addition, Hall is also highlighted as “Nation’s Volunteer of the Day” on the Points Of Light Web site at www.pointsoflight.org.

“I’m honored to receive the award, but I couldn’t have pulled off such a huge event, Dance Marathon, by myself,” Hall said. “This award is really for all of those who helped plan the event, attended the event and all who contributed money.”

There may be some misconceptions as to what Dance Marathon actually is. It’s not your typical “who can dance the longest to win” type of event. It consists of dancing, activities, food and various other contests that prompt participants to stay on their feet, so that they can empathize with the children in the hospital. It helps encourage the children not to give up, just like the dancers don’t give up.

This year, senior Ashley Hall (no relation to Amy Hall) will be the director of Dance Marathon.

“Amy did such a great job last year as director of Dance Marathon,” Ashley Hall said. “I have big shoes to fill, but I’m really excited about the program this year.”

Along with her commitment to helping out the Children’s Miracle Network, Amy Hall is active in the community through many other programs. She is the current PR chair and assistant philanthropy chair of Delta Zeta Sorority, the former PR chair and current president of American Humanics Student Association and the current vice president of the No Boundaries Club. In addition to this, Hall won the Presidential Service Award last semester for completing more than 100 hours of community service in one year.

“Amy is very deserving of this award, as she is one of our strongest servant student leaders,” Stiles said. “This is a nice honor for her to receive due to all of the organizations and volunteer hours that she does. I am extremely excited and proud of her.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 23 2005. Filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry