Atwater Educator and Tireless Cancer Advocate Receives Prestigious HandsOn Awards

Fresno, CA –  Retired educator and Atwater grandmother Kathy Flaherty has received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, top honors for Health Care Volunteer of the year, and a U.S. Presidential Volunteer Service Award from HandsOn Central California during its annual luncheon April 26, 2017.  This is the first time in its nearly 50-year history that HandsOn has presented two awards to the same person in a single year.

The Hands Across the Valley Volunteer Awards event recognizes and celebrates community volunteers, honoring individuals and groups making a difference by generously giving their time and talent to help improve the quality of life in the Valley.

This year’s 49th event at the Clovis Veterans Memorial Hall included a welcome and introduction, Key Note address by Scott Miller with Gazebo Gardens, and award winner presentations. Outstanding Volunteers from Merced, Madera, Kings, Tulare and Fresno Counties were selected by a panel community judges. 

Flaherty was nominated by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.  She has volunteered for the advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society since 2005 and served as the 2015-2016 State Lead Ambassador, traveling to Washington, D.C. to lead the volunteer delegation from California.  She has also served on the California Legislative Advocacy Team.

As the State Lead Ambassador, she regularly communicated with more 500 California Ambassadors, prepared for legislative visits, supported fundraisers, participated in media opportunities including several published articles, onboarded and offboarded volunteers, and assisted in facilitating statewide and nationwide conference calls and meetings. 

“Flaherty served as a highly effective media spokesperson and helped us pass Proposition 56, which is expected to prevent the next generation from a lifetime addiction to nicotine and motivate adult smokers to quit,” said ACS CAN Central California Grassroots Manager JR Fujita.  “We value her continued commitment to the cancer fight and tireless efforts helping mentor new volunteer advocates.”    

In addition to over 200 hours volunteering for ACS CAN in 2016, she volunteered over 200 hours for the Society’s Relay For Life in Merced and Atwater as well as Bark For Life.  She served as Food, Advocacy, & Event Chair for these fundraisers to help fight cancer.  Flaherty served over 20 hours on the American Cancer Society Community Leadership Council in 2016 and spoke at many events to serve the Merced County region since 2013.  She also served on the statewide awards committee.

“When Kathy retired two years ago from the Merced County Office of Education, most would expect her to relax.  Instead, Kathy has continued to help others and seems to volunteer even more,” said JR Fujita.

Besides volunteering for the American Cancer Society since 1989, she has also been a volunteer for the American Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s.  In 2016, she served about 100 hours volunteering as the event’s co-chair and event’s emcee.

For the past eight years, Flaherty has coordinated all the food donations for the children's cancer survivor's Christmas party to serve over 150 people in her community and has been able to give away food baskets.  Often, she delivered gifts to the children that were too sick to come to the party. Every year, she fundraises and attends the Angelman Syndrome Walk in Sacramento, where she also raises awareness to honor her granddaughter.  To date, she has also donated over 30 pints of blood!

About the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network

ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem.  ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.     

CONTACT:
Steph Winn-McCorkle
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
[email protected]
(916) 802-4033