MARY RODGERS
2014 Golden Heart Award Winner

As an eight year old, Mary Rodgers began her volunteer career by giving tours at historic Washington’s Crossing National Park.   Soon she began to hold yearly backyard fairs to raise money for CARE to purchase food and school supplies for an orphanage in Korea.

As an adult, Mary worked with emotionally disturbed students who responded well to volunteering in the community. In 1999, she was named the Service Learning Facilitator for Abington School District.  Since then, Abington students have contributed more than one and a quarter million hours of service to the community. 

Among her distinctions:

Wrote successful application naming Abington Township “America’s Promise: 100 Best Communities for Young People in 2005”   

Presentations:  National Service Learning Leader School Conference, Washington, D.C.; Building Seamless Systems, Philadelphia; Pennsylvania National Service Learning Conference, ’03,’04, ‘05;  and for then first-lady of Pennsylvania, Mrs. Michelle Ridge

Invited by the American Youth Policy Forum to address a Congressional sub-committee on Capitol Hill on March 19, 2004 in support of Service Learning programs and funding

2003, Abington Senior High School was awarded the prestigious Harris Wofford Award by Youth Service America, naming it the Top Service Learning Institution in the United States

Abington High School is featured in a Corporation for National Service video, Bringing Learning to Life,  and 2 commercials that promote service-learning throughout the nation

National Service Learning Conference; Committee Chair, Philadelphia, 2006

Received the Freedom Corps: Citizen Service Award, personally, from President Bush, December 2005 (Nominated as the Outstanding Volunteer of the Year in Philadelphia by Philabundance)

Appointed to the Congressional Award Foundation (Congresses’ only charity) by Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  Elected as Secretary of the Board in 2008.

Received a $100,000 grant for school safety and service-learning projects from State Farm Insurance Company, 2008

Named ‘Service Learning Practitioner of the Year’ by the National Youth Leadership Council, 2008

Asked to serve on the H2O for Life educational advisory committee

Former board member of the Philadelphia Global Water Initiative

Has conducted six trips for Voluntary Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH) which includes traveling with students to Kenya, Guatemala and Mexico to provide eye care