“I love helping people and I enjoy spending time with the organizations that I help,” says Jefferson Award Winner Brenda Stocker.
Stocker’s love of helping is felt in the various places where she likes to donate her time. That includes LifeWise Academy, where her faith and her love of children combined to help start a time-release religious education program. When a house right next to the new Elida Elementary was about to go up for sale, Stocker and other volunteers helped change the house into a school that offers a faith-based education to hundreds of kids.
“It’s a great opportunity to share character education through the bible with 1st through 4th graders at Elida and I feel like I am led by God to do this,” adds Stocker.
“Brenda is a consummate professional, she is a consummate volunteer,” says Kevin Bowers who nominated Brenda. “No matter if it is her serving Meal to Monday, or the Lima Community Church Board, or Elida Local Schools, or LifeWise Elida, everywhere she goes she has a heart for children. She wants to see children prosper physically, socially, academically, spiritually, she is all in to help children.”
People that know Stocker say she leads by example and she is showing these young students how to be active volunteers themselves.
“As they are learning character traits through the bible they are learning about generosity and compassion and those are things that are part of volunteering,” remarks Stocker.
Stocker and the other Jefferson Award winners will be recognized at a banquet on April 19th. One of the winners will be picked to represent our area at the National Jefferson Awards this summer.
