Awards ceremony honors volunteers who provide lifesaving support

Millwood, Va., April 12, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Project HOPE is recognizing its top four outstanding volunteers for 2018 – three individuals and one corporation – for their immense contributions to Project HOPE through rapid disaster response, expert program development and sustainable health-capacity improvements. This week Project HOPE honors them at an awards ceremony at the organization’s headquarters in Millwood, Virginia.

“Project HOPE would not be Project HOPE without our volunteers,” says Dr. Thomas Kenyon, chief executive officer and chief medical officer of Project HOPE. “Each volunteer provides a unique level of commitment and a unique skill set. They also bring a fresh perspective that is so helpful to the team in our country offices – a new set of eyes and ears from diverse backgrounds.”

Carolyn Kruger, a nurse from Purcellville, Virginia, is receiving the Gold Award. Kruger volunteered 1,200 hours to Project HOPE in 2018, working at HOPE’s headquarters and in Sierra Leone developing a maternal child health program. The Silver Award goes to Sheila Cardwell Grisard, a nurse and social worker from Salt Lake City, Utah. Grisard volunteered 112 hours in 2018. Most recently, she has volunteered with HOPE in Guatemala and Puerto Rico. Jabnely Muñoz is receiving the Bronze Award. Muñoz is a physician from Texas who volunteered 96 hours in 2018, serving with Project HOPE in Puerto Rico and Guatemala.

The Sextant Foundation is Project HOPE’s Corporate Partner Volunteer of the Year. The nonprofit extension of Mazzetti, a global provider of engineering design and technology/IT consulting, the Sextant Foundation offers expertise to improve the environmental, financial and human conditions in low-resourced health centers around the world. Their ability to bolster health-system capacity has benefited HOPE’s beneficiaries in powerful and sustainable ways.

In 2018, Sextant volunteers installed solar power at Bo Hospital in Sierra Leone where Project HOPE has an active neonatal program. Previously, Sextant and Mazzetti volunteers partnered with Project HOPE to design a new cholera treatment center for the public hospital in Miragoane, Haiti. The Sextant Foundation’s volunteers also assisted Project HOPE’s emergency response during an earthquake in Haiti, a typhoon in the Philippines and the HIV epidemic in the Dominican Republic.

For more information about volunteering for Project HOPE, please visit www.projecthope.org/ways-to-help/volunteer/

About Project HOPE

Founded in 1958, Project HOPE is a leader in global health and humanitarian relief programs. An international nonprofit organization, we are committed to transforming lives and uplifting communities by empowering health-care workers to teach and deliver innovative, lifesaving solutions, every day and in times of crisis. With programs in nearly 30 countries, we work at the epicenter of today’s greatest health challenges including infectious and noncommunicable diseases; disasters and health crises; maternal, neonatal and child health; and the policies that impact how health care is delivered.  Learn more at www.projecthope.org.

Wendy Kedzierski
Project HOPE
540-837-9564
wkedzierski@projecthope.org