Fairfax-based nonprofit Our Daily Bread has announced that Naomi Project Founder Peggy Ferguson was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2015 Fairfax County Volunteer Service Awards. She was presented the award at a ceremony hosted by Volunteer Fairfax on Friday, April 24, in recognition of her founding of the Naomi Project and her 19 years of managing the Project in a completely volunteer capacity. The Project became a Program of Our Daily Bread in October 2014, upon Ferguson's retirement.
Ferguson said, "It is a tremendous honor to receive the Fairfax County Lifetime Achievement Award in the name of the Naomi Project. I have always been inspired by the incredible women who have volunteered in this program and who continue to volunteer – giving so generously of their time and talents to the pregnant and newly parenting women of Northern Virginia who need some extra help to get their families off to a great start. And I am humbled by the women we serve who allow us into their lives."
Our Daily Bread Executive Director Lisa Whetzel said, "We are so proud of Peggy for winning this award, and are honored to have the Naomi Project and the wonderful volunteers who run this program as part of our family. More than 19 years ago, Peggy recognized an unfulfilled need in our community and devoted an unbelieveable amount of time to creating an excellent organization to fulfill that need. She has also inspired so many other wonderful community members to devote their own time and energy to helping moms or expectant moms who are struggling get the support they need to raise healthy children and attend to their own health. We were able to document more than 5,600 hours of service during that time, but we suspect that Peggy volunteered many more hours than that, and we find her dedication and leadership simply amazing."
The Naomi Project is a mentoring program that matches high-risk pregnant women and new mothers with trained volunteers committed to promoting healthy pregnancies and babies. In the continuum of pre/post-natal care in Northern Virginia, Naomi Project serves a niche population that might otherwise go unserved. Our Daily Bread provides emergency and seasonal assistance, along with financial education and mentoring services to working individuals and families who reside throughout the Fairfax County area. Both organizations are committed to the goal of empowering struggling neighbors to achieve and maintain self-sufficiency.
The Naomi Project invites community members to volunteer as mentors for its clients, and will hold its next training session on June 6 in Fairfax City. More information on the Naomi Project and how to volunteer is available at: www.ODBFairfax.org/Naomi Project.