Teens Receive President’s Volunteer Service Awards

CARMEL – Two teens received the President’s Volunteer Service Award after collectively volunteering more than 700 hours at Putnam Hospital Center.

Michelle Piazza, Putnam Hospital Center’s director of volunteer and pastoral care service, presented Emma Hauser and Carolyn Brandt with their gold awards. Hauser, 19, and Brandt, 19, both started volunteering at the hospital in the transport department in 2013.

Hauser, a Carmel High School graduate who just completed her first year at Dutchess Community College, has completed 410 hours of volunteer service.

“I love the people here,” she said.

Brandt, a Brewster High School graduate who just completed her first year at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, has completed 300 hours of volunteer service.

“It gives me experience for the future,” said Brandt, a nursing major.

The President’s Volunteer Service Award is an initiative by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that recognizes individuals who have achieved a required number of volunteer hours over a 12-month period or cumulatively over a lifetime. The awards are offered in multiple levels including bronze, silver, gold and the highest honor, the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for volunteers who contribute more than 4,000 hours of service in their lifetime.

The gold award is presented to young adults, ages 16 to 25, who have completed more than 250 hours of service.

Both Hauser and Brandt will volunteer at Putnam Hospital Center this summer.