Several local residents were honored on Tuesday for their efforts to make a difference in the community.
The Association of Fundraising Professionals, Community Foundation of the Ozarks and the Ozarks Health Advocacy Foundation came together on National Philanthropy Day to honor those individuals.
The CFO Humanitarian of the Year award went to Stephanie Stenger. She was chosen for her volunteer leadership of Springfield nonprofits and community initiatives, according to CFO President and CEO Winter Kinne. Stenger played a key role in the Moxie Cinema’s transition to a nonprofit, and she was instrumental in the formation of Isabel’s House Crisis Nursery, which the Junior League of Springfield started.
When she got up to accept her award, Stenger thanked her parents for instilling in her a desire to make a difference. She said her mom, Lisa, showed her and her siblings how to volunteer by taking them to Junior League meetings. And when Junior League was in the research phase for the Discovery Center, her mom took their family to science museums across the country.
The OHAF Child Health Advocate of the Year went to Tranna Shaughnessy with Diaper Bank of the Ozarks; Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year was awarded to Vanessa Scavuzzo withCASA of Southwest Missouri; Philanthropist of the Year was awarded to Robyn Yost of Mercy; the Fundraising Event of the Year went to the Care to Learn Soiree; Fundraising Rising Star of the Year was given to Samantha Whittaker of the Nixa Education Foundation; Fundraising Professional of the Year went to Whitney Williams of Legal Services of Southwest Missouri; and the Foundation of the Year award was given to the Hatch Foundation.
