Volunteers who made a significant impact in 2024 were recognized and appreciated during the second annual Patient Support Virtual Volunteer Summit on Wednesday, April 23. If you were unable to join live, you can watch a recording on YouTube.
The summit honored the 2024 Patient Support Volunteer Award winners, celebrating their exceptional commitment to ensuring no one faces cancer alone. Their stories served as powerful reminders of the difference volunteers make every day across our communities.
More than 700 people attended the summit, and the feedback keeps coming! Guests are calling the celebration inspiring and empowering – two sentiments that were evident in the live event chat where messages of encouragement, gratitude, and love flowed in from all corners of the country, along with a flurry of 😍, 🎉, and 👏 emojis.
See what attendees are saying about the summit and why they love to volunteer:
One of my riders sent me a video of himself ringing the bell, and he told me I helped save his life. That's what it's all about.
I really liked how the speakers took the time to briefly describe the awardees' contributions and backstories. It was engaging to have a different leadership member introduce each category of awardee volunteers, too. It helped me better understand the depth and breadth of ACS.
I truly believe in the Pay it Forward philosophy. I know what we do has that effect!
Today, more than ever, it is inspiring and heartwarming to see all of these wonderful, unselfish, giving people!
Award winners honored during the event included:
National Volunteer Award Winners
- Volunteer Leadership Award: Ella A. Kazerooni, MD, MS
- Volunteer Leadership Award: Suzy Lawrence
- Patient Support Volunteer Award for Excellence: Jeff Molby
- Lane Adams Quality of Life Award: Dr. Danielle Noreika
- Health System Partner of the Year Award (Large): Cedars Sinai Health System
- Health System Partner of the Year Award (Mid/Small): Highland Medical Center
Program Award Winners
- ACS CARES
- ACS CARES Student Leadership Award: Corinne Bovee, University of Iowa, and Sarah Frielich, University of Iowa
- ACS CARES Community Volunteer Award: John Bailey
- ACS CARES Health System Champion Award: Denver Health
- Hope Lodge
- Margot S. Freudenberg Rookie of the Year Award: Chiamaka Ikeh
- Margot S. Freudenberg Memorial Award: Phil Beckenhauer
- Margot S. Freudenberg Group Award: Slow Food Emory
- Road To Recovery
- Rookies of the Year : Nipun Hewage, Lorrie Pate, Barbara Inderhees, Dan Gentile, and John “Wes” Mitchell
- Pacesetters of the Year: Ron Schwarzman, Ronald Piscitelli, Kathleen Cotter, Laura Moran, and Karen Nichols
- Outstanding Volunteer Awards: Wayne Scott, Mike Gunter, Sean Moroney, Joseph Sutton, and Susan Wilkinson
- Partners of the Year: AdventHealth (Florida), Jeff Molby (Michigan), and Rochester NY Area Board of Advisors (New York)
Visit the special site created to share more about our inspiring award winners and patient support volunteer opportunities.
The event also featured a heartfelt introduction from Dr. Arif Kamal, chief patient officer, who emphasized the life-changing impact volunteers have on Patient Support programs, as well as remarks from Natasha Coleman, Community Impact vice president, Gary Leipheimer, vice president of Access to Care Solutions, Hillary Grice, quality of life and survivor support manager, Nicole Robertson, director of community navigation, and Tamara Fernandez, vice president of Hope Lodge and ACS EMPOWER.
Share Your Feedback
Your insights are invaluable to us. To help us enhance future events, we kindly ask that you complete the post-event survey. Your feedback will help shape future volunteer experiences and celebrations.
Thank you to the event organizers, speakers, and volunteers who made the summit a success! We are deeply grateful for every person whose unwavering dedication brings hope and support to those impacted by cancer.
