PLUS ME Wins HALO Award
The Carl & Roberta Deutsch Foundation selected PLUS ME as 1 of 6 organizations to receive the 2021 HALO Award!
The HALO Award is a capacity building program designed to strengthen and sustain nonprofit organizations by supporting volunteer programs and recognizing volunteers doing exemplary work in their communities.
Meet Our HALO Award Winner: Cheryl Farrell
Cheryl Farrell was first introduced to PLUS ME Project over 2 years ago through PBS SoCal. She attended our storytelling training sessions and signed up to speak in multiple classrooms at Edison Middle School on Giving Tuesday in 2019. Throughout this process, Cheryl found joy in not only sharing her story with students, but also having the opportunity to self-reflect on her own life journey. She realized she could resonate with and inspire students on a deep level, if she was willing to be vulnerable and authentic in the story she shared from her childhood.
Cheryl quickly built strong rapport with the students as well as the volunteers she shared the classroom experience with. It was an experience she described as unlike anything she had ever done before. Cheryl volunteered to speak at our Listen 2020 scholarship event at Marlborough School where she helped to award 5 students with the first ever PLUS ME Project scholarships for sharing their stories live. In addition, Cheryl helped to plan the Celebrating 100K event, a fundraising campaign that honored PLUS ME for reaching the milestone of impacting 100,000 students since launching in 2013. Throughout the pandemic, Cheryl stayed connected and involved. She is a true champion for the organization that deserves to be recognized not only for her work with PLUS ME, but her commitment to the community.
PLUS ME will receive capacity building support designed to enhance our organizational capacity and a $20,000 grant to strengthen our volunteer program. Cheryl will receive a $5,000 award for her outstanding efforts. We look forward to celebrating Cheryl at the HALO Awards Reception on February 10!
