On Sunday, April 23, 2023, three Rockville teenagers will be presented with The President's Volunteer Service Award. Isabella Kirchmeier (16), Josephine Carmicheal (16), and Archer Carmicheal (14) are all volunteers at The Cornerstone in Rockville, CT.
Isabella, a sophomore at EastCONN EVC in Columbia, began volunteering in 2020 and is essential to the Diaper Bank Program. In 2022 alone, she volunteered a total of 207 hours. She helps unload and organize the diapers when they are donated, and she also volunteers on Fridays when the Diaper Bank is open. In addition to volunteering at The Cornerstone, Isabella was crowned Miss Amazing Junior Teen and volunteered 15 hours through the Connecticut Miss Amazing Pageant Program. She packed period supply kits for schools and many other community service projects. Isabella volunteered a total of 222 hours in 2022.
Isabella Kirchmeier volunteering at The Cornerstone's Diaper Bank
Josephine (Jo), a junior at Rockville High School in Vernon, has been volunteering at The Cornerstone since 2021. She started with data entry and filing needs. In 2022, Jo focused her volunteer time on prepping, cooking, and serving in the Community Kitchen. She has also been involved in setting up and working many Cornerstone events, including being the face painter at Cornerstone's Christmas Party. She volunteered 142 hours in 2022. In addition to her volunteer hours at The Cornerstone, Jo is a Community Educator at Strong Family Farm in Vernon. She has been involved in the creation and running of the Backyard Chicken Program for the last ten years. She volunteered 50 hours to Strong Family Farm in 2022. Jo also volunteered at Community Voice Channel (CVC) in Bolton as a crew member and a producer, creating short promotional and informational videos for non-profits in the area. In 2022, Jo volunteered 19 hours at CVC. In total, Jo volunteered 211 hours in 2022.
Jo and Archer Carmicheal face painting at Cornerstone's 2022 Christmas Party
Archer, a freshmen at Rockville High School in Vernon, also started volunteering at The Cornerstone in the beginning of 2021 helping with data entry and filing needs. He has since spent most of his hours prepping and serving in the Community Kitchen. He has also been involved in the organization of the Community Kitchen storage space, sock drives, wrapping presents during the holidays, and setting up and working many Cornerstone events. In addition to his volunteer hours at The Cornerstone, Archer is an Education Assistant at Strong Family Farm in Vernon. He has helped supervise the Backyard Chicken Program for the last ten years. He volunteered 50 hours to Strong Family Farm in 2022. Archer volunteered a total of 117 hours in 2022.
All three teenagers, plus 53 additional Cornerstone volunteers will be honored with The President's Volunteer Service Award at Cornerstone's Volunteer Appreciation event on Sunday, April 23, 2023. There will 28 Bronze Service Awards, 16 Silver Service Awards and 12 Gold Service Awards presented to Cornerstone volunteers at this year's award ceremony. Cornerstone will also be presenting certificates of appreciation to additional volunteers from 2022 that did not qualify for The President's Volunteer Service Award.
Cornerstone depends on our volunteers in every one of our missions. We could not serve our community to the extent we are able without our hundreds of volunteers. Although the President's Volunteer Service Award is a prestigious honor, Cornerstone could never truly thank each of our volunteers enough for the work they do and the impact they have on our community.
Alexis Carmicheal
Communications Director