Fayetteville to be named a 2011 Arkansas Volunteer Community of the Year


Guess who won another volunteer community of the year award in the state of Arkansas? (Hint: it was Fayetteville). Give up?

Volunteer coordinator Julie McQuade said that the city was notified earlier this week that Fayetteville will be honored for the third consecutive year for the efforts of its volunteers.

The award is given annually by DHS Division of Community Service and Nonprofit Support, the Arkansas Municipal League, and the Office of the Governor. Fayetteville has been recognized six times since 1982.

McQuade said that volunteers within the city contributed over 600,000 hours over the past year. She compiles the totals by reaching out to community groups through out the city.

“I start a couple months before, contact all the organizations that use volunteers and ask them to send me their hours for the past 12 months,” she said. “Then I take all that information, and compile it into three pages for the state.”

The Walton Arts Center, the Fayetteville Public Library, the Veterans Administration, and the city were some of the organizations that received the most volunteer hours this year.

The city will officially be honored at an awards luncheon hosted by the Arkansas Municipal League in January.