Recognize a volunteer!

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Heinz Endowments and The Pittsburgh Foundation invite you to nominate a Community Champion.

Community Champions are the ordinary people who do extraordinary things without expectation of a reward. People who are committed to helping and who donate their time and energy to lend a hand and solve problems.

Your nomination can be taken online. It's very simple. Click on the Nomination Form link and tell us about the person or family that you would like to recognize for outstanding volunteer service to the community. Your description should be as specific as possible and include the number of hours your nominee volunteers per month, a description of these efforts and what they mean to the community (or region) and names of the organizations for whom your nominee volunteers. Your description doesn't need to be any longer than about 250 words.

Deadline for entries is Friday, August 15, 2008.

Each year, community representatives pick 50 Community Champions. Every Community Champion is honored with an ad in the Post-Gazette and at a reception given in their honor.

Once selected, the Post-Gazette will submit honorees to the American Institute for Public Service for consideration of a Jefferson Award. In 1972, the American Institute established the Jefferson Awards for Public Service, founded by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, U.S. Senator Robert Taft and Sam Beard. The awards were created to recognize and encourage outstanding community and public service and are considered the Nobel Prize for volunteer service.

Online nomination form