Jonesboro named Volunteer Community of the Year
by February 24, 2020 7:16 pm 665 views
Volunteerism and a key new downtown project garnered Jonesboro high statewide honors at the winter meetings of the Arkansas Municipal League in Little Rock.
Jonesboro was named a Volunteer Community of the Year for the second time in three years. The St. Bernards Healthcare expansion, meanwhile, won the 2020 Main Street Arkansas Award of Excellence for Best Economic Impact.
Mayor Harold Perrin accepted the volunteerism award on behalf of what he has consistently described as “the most loving, benevolent community I’ve ever seen.” Downtown Jonesboro Alliance Director Lindsey Wingo accepted the Main Street Arkansas award, saying “The St. Bernards surgical unit and heart center will transform downtown Jonesboro and serve greater northeast Arkansas for decades to come.”
Perrin said he has seen “tremendous change in our downtown over the past decade, and this is the piece that will keep downtown Jonesboro buzzing long after I’m gone. The resurrection of downtown is in full swing, and with a couple more pieces that I believe are on the horizon, downtown Jonesboro is becoming a destination once again.”
The Volunteer Community of the Year award cited resource and service opportunities provided by the City of Jonesboro, the Chamber of Commerce and St. Bernards Foundation’s websites that connect potential volunteers with charitable opportunities.
It commended the Fill the Food Bank Drive at Jonesboro High School that provided 4,200 meals, and the Fearless Food Fight in which city employees created 81,650 meals for those in need. “Stuff the Bus,” “United Way Day of Caring,” and many other programs were mentioned as separating Jonesboro from other places as an Arkansas Volunteer Community of the Year.