The Carl and Helen DeVore Memorial Humanitarian Award
The Carl and Helen DeVore Memorial Humanitarian Award was established in 1995 to recognize a junior or senior student for outstanding commitment to public service. It acknowledges a spectrum of efforts, from individual service to the ability to create an organization and involve others. Importantly, the award recognizes results accomplished through the student's initiative and his or her ability to translate ideas into practical results. The award is named after Otterbein President C. Brent DeVore's mother and father and was funded in their memory by his family and friends.
Download the DeVore Humanitarian Award Nomination Form here. Nominations are due on Friday, May 1 at 5 p.m. E-mail nominations to Chris Hempfling at chempfling@otterbein.edu.
Nominations for the award are reviewed with regards to the following criteria:
- Has exemplified the mission of Otterbein Community Engagement through a committment to social justice, life-long learning, and community development.
- Has shown evidence of outstanding public service during his or her time at Otterbein.
- Has developed an effective approach to social, educational, environmental, health, and economic or legal issue within the community.
Procedures for nominations:
- Faculty, staff and students may submit nominations.
- Nominations will be reviewed by committee.
- The committee may recommend up to two recipients to the college president, who will make the final selection(s).
The award is presented at the Center for Community Engagement Celebration of Service on Monday, May 19.
2007 DeVore Humanitarian Award Recipient
Katie Starling received the 2007 Carl and Helen DeVore Memorial Humanitarian Award for her numerous service contributions, including her work with UMCH children.
Katie joined Otterbein as a Community Service Scholar and during her freshman year, she volunteered for many service opportunities. She quickly recognized that her gift was working with under-served children and she became a coordinator for the Center for Community Engagement at the United Methodist Children’s Home. Her dedication transformed UMCH and the way her Otterbein student volunteers worked with at-risk youth. In consecutive years Katie focused the program on more one-on-one time between volunteers and residents. She recognized the need for a more intentional mentorship program and recruited over 50 student volunteers for the UMCH program.
The idea of the initiative, “Grow Something with Them,” is one of Katie’s inspirations. This project involves teaching UMCH children entrepreneurial skills through growing vegetables and then selling their produce. The project won funding support of the Carter Foundation and the Carter Academic Service Entrepreneur grant.
In addition to her service with UMCH, Katie has also been involved with an exceptional ecotourism project, has helped to establish an Alumni CardinalCorps, coordinated a Relay for Life team at Otterbein, and completed service-learning projects on World Hunger and Social Justice. Her leadership, initiative and deep commitment to service truly exemplify the purpose of the DeVore award which is to help others maximize their uniquely individual talents.
Previous DeVore Humanitarian Award recipients:
1995 – Zenia Dacio
1996 – Simeon Frazier
1997 – Nicole Buran
1998 – Jessica Shultz
1999 – Melissa Johnson & Katie Pearce
2000 – Joyce Ray & Katie Thompson
2001 - Tricia Johnson
2002 – Jason Jenkins
2003 – Shawn Robinson
2004 – Jon Juravich
2005 – Lauren Suveges
2006 – Colleen Shaver
2007 – Katie Starling
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