A Forrest woman has won the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award for her efforts with a food program in the Prairie Central school district.
Information released by the state said Teresa Bachtold has been an instrumental figure in organizing the food backpack program for the district.
“When she learned the school wanted to implement this program for students, she reached out to see how she could help make the idea a reality,” said a news release. “Teresa happily stepped in and began coordinating with her church’s local world relief, Harvest Call.”
Bachtold organized and oversaw the program, making it district-wide at Prairie Central to provide needed food to students. She worked with food banks, organized volunteers and made sure the food was delivered to the schools so it could be distributed to students.
This program gave students and adults throughout the school district the chance to volunteer as well.
“Prairie Central owes much of the program’s success and the wellbeing of their students to Teresa’s hard work and dedication to her community,” the release concludes.
Around 30 Illinoisans and businesses were presented with the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award during a special virtual event held this week. The awards are presented through the Serve Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service, highlighting the importance of volunteerism and community service in our state.
“These past few months have shown us once again that volunteers are the beating heart of Illinois,” said Commission Executive Director Scott McFarland. “We are honored to be able to highlight just a few of the nearly 3 million people in Illinois who give back.”
The Commission received more than 215 nominations in six categories (adult, AmeriCorps, business, senior, Senior Corps, and youth) from the Commission’s five service regions across the state (East Central, Northeast, Northwest, Southern, and West Central). Commissioners reviewed the applications and selected 28 award winners.
