The deadline is later this week for Iowans to nominate someone for the American Red Cross’ Heroes of the Heartland Awards.
Emily Holley, the agency’s regional communications manager, says the annual honors are designed to single out the people in our communities who go above and beyond.
“We come together as Iowa chapters of the Red Cross every year to honor local people, ordinary folks who’ve done something extraordinary,” Holley says. “It could be that someone stepped in to save a life, kind of a good Samaritan. It could be someone who saw a need in their community and stepped up to fill that need, like a food pantry or an organization.”
As Iowans make their nominations, Holley says the heroes among us reflect the best of our communities, and they leave a lasting and positive impact on residents. The deadline to submit a nomination is Friday.
“Nominations go to a committee of Red Cross board members who are on the boards for all three of our Iowa chapters, and they will make their selections,” Holley says, “and then I will notify the nominators and the heroes that they will be getting the award, so the whole process takes a couple of weeks.”
Holley says it’s easy to nominate someone. “Go to our website, which is RedCross.org/IA and under ‘Events,’ you’ll see ‘Heroes,’ and you can fill out the application,” Holley says, “or you can mail your nomination to our Des Moines office.”
That address is: American Red Cross, Attn: Emily Holley, 2116 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50312.
The award winners will be honored at an event in Des Moines on March 25th.