Charitable Souls Nominees Sought

OCEAN CITY – Do you know of someone who volunteers to make the lower shore community a better place to live, work and play?

If so, The Dispatch wants to hear from you.

Last year, The Dispatch’s Shore Stars program was launched with the intention of organizing campaigns to recognize leading citizens on the lower shore.

The first-ever event was called Charitable Souls, and The Dispatch Publisher Steve Green announced this week that campaign will be revisited this spring.

“About 120 people were nominated as Charitable Souls last year in our first-ever campaign. Even with all those who were nominated and the 40 that were honored, we realized we had merely scratched the surface as far as recognizing philanthropic types in this area. A variety of non-profit organizations were represented, but there were many who were not. They were either unaware of the recognition program or were simply too busy to consider nominating individuals,” Green said. “We figured another organized campaign, utilizing what we learned last year, would allow us to reach deeper into the communities and spotlight those on the forefront of volunteer and charity work here on the lower shore.”

Along with the Charitable Souls campaign last year, The Dispatch’s Shore Stars program honored Women Leaders in June and Young Professionals in October. Another campaign will be held this fall and announced in late summer.

The Dispatch is currently seeking nominees from the public for the Charitable Souls campaign. The nomination deadline is Wednesday, Feb. 22. A committee will review all the nominations and then announce the honorees in the March 9 issue.

The honorees will be recognized in a commemorative full-color publication inserted into The Dispatch on March 30 and honored with an award at an upscale cocktail party at Fager’s Island on April 10.

“We are often asked what the criterion is for a nomination. It’s simple. The individual must simply volunteer his or her time in an effort to improve the lives of others and to make a difference in the community,” Green said. “We do not require extensive biographies or anything like that, we just want to hear about citizens who have impressed and demonstrated a philanthropic spirit, and we will handle the rest.”

To nominate a worthy individual from Worcester, Wicomico or Sussex counties by the Feb. 22 deadline, email editor@mdcoastdispatch.com or call 410-641-4561.

This campaign is being sponsored by D3Corp, Atlantic General Hospital, Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, Taylor Bank and The Dispatch.