UNH Students Honored For Thousands Of Volunteer Hours


Related Links Whittemore School of Business and Economics		UNH Students Honored For Thousands Of Volunteer Hours Contact: Lori Wright 603-862-0574 UNH Media Relations Sept. 27, 2005 DURHAM, N.H. – Fundraising is the lifeblood of nonprofit organizations such as the American Red Cross, so when University of New Hampshire undergraduate William Royer volunteered for the Great Bay Chapter, his interest in researching and writing grants, publishing the organization’s newsletter for supporters, and updating its website was welcomed wholeheartedly. Staff at the Great Bay Chapter was so busy dealing with local, national and international disasters that working on fundraising and marketing projects had been put on the back burner. “Keeping connected to our community is vital, and Bill was able to assist us by donating his time and really taking the project on from start to finish. Since we rely completely on donated dollars from the community to not only survive, but to serve others, this newsletter was terribly important to keep our constituents informed," said Sarah Cherne, executive director of the chapter. On Monday, Sept. 26, 2005 Royer, a sophomore from South Berwick, Maine, was honored for his volunteer service with the Fidelity Innovation and Technology Award, one of four awards presented at the 2005 Community Service Awards sponsored by Fidelity Investments and the Whittemore School of Business and Economics at UNH. Four awards were presented to students enrolled in the Whittemore School's Introduction to Business course taught by Ross Gittell, James R. Carter Professor of Management. The students are required to do eight hours of community service as part of learning about corporate social responsibility, and the awards – a $1,000 grant – went to the nonprofit organization or agency where they completed their volunteer work. On average the students in the class donate more than 5,000 hours of service a year. Christine Williams, a sophomore from Newton, earned a $1,000 grant for the Rockingham Community Action Outreach Center for winning the Fidelity Financial Education Award. Williams helped people in need of food, clothing and shelter get the appropriate services. Many times, though, her most important volunteer role was simply being a compassionate ear for people who needed assistance to get through tough times. “It may not seem like a lot but some of the people just like to have someone to talk to. There are people out there that, no matter what they do, they just can't make ends meet or they are just in a bad situation and can't get out of it. Just by going somewhere like the Rockingham Community Action Outreach Center and talking to people who listen to what they have to say makes an impact on them. That’s important,” Williams said. “This project supported my academic work, especially in the business class, because it made me understand the role of social responsibility. It showed me how much one person can help others and if a whole company bands together to help then even more can be accomplished.” Fidelity awarded a grant in each of the following categories: Fidelity Literacy Award Winner: John-Paul Venuto, Durham. Volunteered with Seymour Osman Community Center and Youth Safe Haven. Finalist (tie): Lainey Remignanti, Durham, and Jamison Biron, Lee. Volunteered with Dover Youth. Nathaniel Jones, Hartford, Conn. Volunteered with Read Across America. The Fidelity Literacy Award recognizes a student volunteer project or activity that promotes literacy and/or helps strengthen reading skills for a variety of age groups and populations. Fidelity Financial Education Award Winner: Christine Williams, Newton. Volunteered with Rockingham Community Action Outreach Center. Finalist: None. The Fidelity Financial Education Award recognizes a student volunteer project or activity that helps to promote personal financial education and further individual understanding of personal finance concepts, including but not limited to budgeting and savings, avoiding credit and investment risks, philanthropic investment strategies, understanding different economic models, etc. The Fidelity Innovation and Technology Award Winner: William Royer, South Berwick, Maine. Volunteered with the American Red Cross, Great Bay Chapter. Finalist: Amy Kaplan, Cumberland, Maine. Volunteered with Wildlife Encounters, LLC The Fidelity Innovation and Technology Award recognizes a student volunteer project or activity that helps a nonprofit organization use technology to initiate changes in its operations and service delivery channels to expand or improve service. Fidelity Community Investor Award Winner: Christopher Matrumalo, Derry, and Jake Marvelley, Hamilton, Mass. Volunteered with the United Way of the Greater Seacoast. Finalist: Sam Harkinson, Rochester, and Rachel Albright, Rochester. Volunteered with The Gafney Home. The Fidelity Community Investor Award recognizes the student volunteer project or activity that provides the greatest benefit to families and individual residents in a seacoast town or city. Fidelity Investments is one of the world's largest providers of financial services, with custodied assets of $2.3 trillion, including managed assets of $1.1 trillion as of Aug. 31, 2005. Fidelity offers investment management, retirement planning, brokerage, and human resources and benefits outsourcing services to approximately 20 million individuals and institutions as well as through 5,500 financial intermediary firms. The firm is the largest mutual fund company in the United States, the No. 1 provider of workplace retirement savings plans, one of the largest mutual fund supermarkets and a leading online brokerage firm. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit http://www.fidelity.com. Editor’s Note: Photographs of the winners are available. Please contact Lori Wright at lori.wright@unh.edu.