Hands On Birmingham to honor ‘unsung’ volunteers with Ignite Awards

Many volunteers in the Birmingham area go unrecognized, but that’s about to change.

Hands On Birmingham —  the volunteer arm of the United Way of Central Alabama — will host its inaugural Ignite Awards Ceremony at The Club April 25 at 10:30 a.m. to give overdue recognition to dedicated volunteers and service leaders in the area.

“We’re trying to get people to understand there are a lot of people out there working to better our community,” said HOB Executive Director Benga Harrison. “They’re unsung heroes. They’re giving time, not dollars, so people don’t know what a value they are.”

The organization will name the HOB Volunteer of the Year, as well as additional Volunteer of the Year awards in categories including corporate, government, nonprofit, student, small business and faith-based.

The nominations, which were open to the public, closed March 1.

Harrison said she hopes the Ignite Awards and the ceremony itself — in addition to inspiring new volunteers — will be an emotional lift for volunteers. 

“People working in the community and at the grass roots … get discouraged sometimes, so we want a room of people who do this work to ignite each other,” she said.  

The awards can help more people understand the positive economic impact of volunteering, Harrison said, who added each volunteer hour in Alabama equates to approximately $20.84, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

And the Ignite Awards can propagate a positive message about the city.

“There’s a lot of good that goes on in Birmingham, and that never gets talked about,” Harrison said. “I want to change that.”  

For more information, go to uwca.org/ignite.