Camp Rising Sun will be honored Monday in Jackson with the Governor’s Initiative for Volunteer Excellence (GIVE) Award for Outstanding Achievement in a Nonprofit. The summer camp for children who have been diagnosed with cancer is one of 13 award recipients to be recognized at this annual event celebrating commitment to service.
Volunteer Mississippi, in coordination with the Office of the Governor and First Lady Deborah Bryant, Honorary Chair of the Volunteer Mississippi Board of Commissioners, will recognize honorees at a ceremony at the Mississippi Museum of Art.
Lynn Phillips-Gaines and Joan Wilson, both of Starkville, are also award recipients.
Camp Rising Sun
Camp Rising Sun Board President Elizabeth Yates said, “We’re excited, of course, and humbled to be nominated for and receive this award. We’re honored to be part of this organization that does so much for kids throughout the South, giving them an opportunity to have a normal camp experience.”
The GIVE Award recognizes the camp for establishing and maintaining high standards of volunteer involvement and effectiveness, and leveraging a host of resources for children who participate. It was originally begun by the Junior Auxiliary of Columbus in 1987, and is held at Camp Pratt in Lowndes County. Each summer, volunteers support the needs of the camp, including volunteer medical personnel on site around the clock.
Thanks to volunteer board members’ fundraising efforts, campers attend free of charge. Almost 50 counselors are on hand and more than 70 volunteers from the U.S. Air Force and the community helped clean up and prep the camp grounds before last summer’s session, said United Way’s Volunteer Columbus Director Leslie Peel, who nominated Camp Rising Sun.
David Mallery, executive director of Volunteer Mississippi, said, “Camp Rising Sun is a prime example of the impact we can have when we serve together, applying our diverse talents and skills to help others who are in need.”
Siggy Weeks is co-director of the camp, along with Allison Kizer.
“Those of us that work on Camp Rising Sun are not looking for any accolade, but when they told us we were receiving (this award), it was a great honor. We enjoy what we’re doing; we do it for the children … ”
Starkville honorees
Lynn Phillips-Gaines, a certified financial planner, will receive the GIVE award for Outstanding Achievement in Building Sustainable Community Solutions. In 2011, she founded Starkville Bridges Out of Poverty, a nonprofit with the mandate to eliminate poverty. She also works with the Starkville Area Habitat for Humanity and the Oktibbeha County Chapter of the NAACP as well as other organizations.
The GIVE award for Outstanding Service in the Arts and Humanities will go to Joan Wilson. Her volunteer efforts with the Starkville Community Theatre, Starkville Area Arts Council, Starkville Friends of the Library, Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum and Friends of the Museum help ensure arts, culture and history are accessible to all residents.
“These two women have devoted their lives to improving their communities, and their dedication to making their communities a more enjoyable place to live and learn is a model that every Mississippian can appreciate,” said Mallery.
Learn more about the GIVE awards at volunteermississippi.org.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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