News | Press Release

Teens Make a Difference Awards Ceremony May 13 & 15

San Bernardino & Rancho Cucamonga, CA (May 1, 2008) – the 15th annual Teens Make a Difference Awards Ceremony will take place this May at two locations. This ceremony recognizes local high school students for their outstanding volunteer service at local community places such as libraries, hospitals, participating schools and other nonprofit and community based organizations.

A total of 69,249 hours of service were volunteered by 587 high school students in the past year. All students, regardless of the number of hours completed, will be recognized. The value of a volunteer service hour is $21.97 as determined by the Independent Sector; therefore, a contribution valued at $1,521,400 has been provided to our community. The program is expanding to include teens in the West End and will have two ceremonies this year, and students are offered the option to receive their award at either location.

“Teens Make a Difference Awards Ceremony was created by Inland Center to encourage high school teens to volunteer in their communities,” said Terri Relf, Senior Marketing Manager at Inland Center.

Students from the following communities will be recognized: Big Bear Lake, Bloomington, Chino, Chino Hills, Claremont, Colton, Crestline, Diamond Bar, Fontana, Highland, La Verne, Lake Arrowhead, Loma Linda, Montclair, Ontario, Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands, Rialto, Running Springs, San Bernardino, San Dimas, Upland, Walnut and Yucaipa.

"Universities and Employers are looking for students who have volunteered,” said Diane Podolske, Ph.D., Director, Community-University Partnerships and Service Learning, CSUSB. “Service hours demonstrate a commitment to helping others, and provides evidence of a student’s time management, problem solving and human relation skills.”

Since the inception of the awards ceremony in 1993, we have recorded a total number of 5,300 volunteers completing 710,130 hours. This is a program of Inland Center Mall, Inland Empire United Way’s Hands On initiative and Arrowhead United Way’s Volunteers United program.

www.InlandCenter.com

Inland Empire United Way (IEUW) helps disadvantaged kids succeed in school, provides easy access to health and social services, develops volunteer opportunities to create positive change, and strengthens financial stability opportunities for low-income families and individuals. Learn more about IEUW at www.ieuw.org.

Contact: Robin Kelley, Inland Empire United Way, at (909) 980-2857 ext. 227
                 Terri Relf, Inland Center Mall, at (909) 884.7268

www.ieuw.org
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