JEFFERSON COUNTY — Four people in our region received the Governors Outstanding Senior Volunteer Award for Volunteerism last week and one of the four is from right here in Mt. Vernon.

Phyllis Wilks was present at the 14th Annual Governor’s Volunteer Service Award ceremony in Chicago to receive her award.

Phyllis was nominated for her volunteer work with Angels in Assignment, Rotary, and other local organizations.

A celebration of 300 guests was held at the Southern Cultural Center where awardees from across the State of Illinois received recognition for their dedication to volunteering to make Illinois better.

Phyllis was one of the four winners in Region 5.  Wilks said” It was such an honor to represent Jefferson County as a volunteer winner.  There are many deserving volunteers in our community and working together we can do so much.”

In other Angels on Assignment news, their recent goal of collecting 4,000 pounds of food to help the 100,000 Pounds Challenge to Fight Food Insecurity exceeded their expectations by bringing in more than 5,000 pounds of non-perishable food to fight hunger.

Angels on Assignment served as the coordinating point for the drop off and collection of food.

Lynn Lenker lead of AOA said their goal of 2,000 pounds or one ton would “be a great help in our Jefferson County area, but to see such a wonderful turnout from churches, businesses, schools, and the community has been very rewarding.”

Bringing in more than 5,000 pounds of food also brought in 115 hours of volunteer time.

Food collected will stay in Jefferson County and was shared with AOA, Rescue Mission, Epworth United Methodist Church and Faith Lutheran.

Lynn says they are so grateful for the partnership of volunteers and donors to fight hunger in Jefferson County.