Jefferson Awards

NBC10 & UWRI team up to honor volunteerism

NBC10 and United Way of Rhode Island have joined forces to honor three people in our community who have gone above and beyond the call of duty. A panel of independent judges reviews the entries and chooses the winners based on outstanding personal acts and community impact.

The judges are looking for acts of courage, vision, dedication and tenacity. Eligibility includes volunteers as well as paid professionals who are not typically in the media.

Nomination

Do you know someone in your neighborhood who's making a difference and deserves recognition? Nominate someone for a Jefferson Award.

The deadline to submit nominations is February 5, 2012.

Background and History

In 1972, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, U.S. Senator Robert Taft, Jr. and Sam Beard established the Jefferson Awards. The purpose of the Jefferson Awards is to honor individuals for their achievements and contributions through public and community service in order to inspire and encourage others to get involved.

The Jefferson Awards are presented on two levels: national and local. National award recipients represent a "Who's Who" of outstanding Americans. On the local level, Jefferson Awards recipients are ordinary people who do extraordinary things without expectation of recognition or reward.

The national awards are given in five categories:

• Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official

• Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen

• Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged

• Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years or Younger

• Outstanding Public Service Benefiting the Local Community

Past winners of the national award include Jimmy Carter, Walter Cronkite, Gen. Colin Powell, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Oprah Winfrey, Kirk Douglas, Arthur Ashe, Paul Newman, Lance Armstrong, Peyton Manning, Bill and Melinda Gates, among many others.

The Jefferson A wards is the nation's largest media partnership highlighting service to America.

Mission

The mission of the Jefferson Awards is to encourage and honor individuals for their achievements and contributions through public and community service. Through our Media Partners, we seek to inspire volunteering in local communities. Through our Champions, we seek to energize volunteering in the workplace. Through our Youth Service Initiative, we seek to double volunteering in high schools.

Criteria

The selection criteria for the national and local Jefferson Awards winners are parallel.

There are two basic considerations:

• Outstanding Personal Acts

• Community Impact

First, the selectors review acts of courage, vision, dedication, and tenacity. Is there anything outstanding, unique, heroic about the nominee and his or her character? Second, they review the impact on the community. Public service is about serving people and communities. Has the nominee addresses important issues facing local communities or the country? Has the nominee had a measurable impact?

Jefferson Awards highlight the "Unsung Heroes." Eligibility includes volunteers as well as paid professionals who go well above and beyond their expected service. "Unsung" means not normally in the media.