About The Race
Governor Jack Markell needs your help to move Delaware to first in the nation for recorded volunteer hours from our current position of 42nd!

To rally the State for service, Governor Markell, with support from several partners including the Jefferson Awards, will hold the second annual Race For a Better Delaware on Sunday, May 23, 2010, 9:00 AM, at the Shipyard Shops of the Wilmington Riverfront. This is an exciting opportunity for you, your family, friends, businesses, and service organizations to come together and walk, run, and have fun.

There are two important goals for the Race For a Better Delaware. The first is to encourage Delawareans to support the Governor's effort to make Delaware first in the nation for volunteerism. Second, as part of the Jefferson Awards' effort to recognize "unsung heroes," Race proceeds will benefit the Delaware Youth Leadership Scholarship Fund at the Delaware Community Foundation. This fund will offer scholarships to outstanding high school students who demonstrate leadership through service.

You can race, run, or walk individually, as a family, or as a team of friends or co-workers. Get your friends and family to sponsor you. Sponsorship opportunities are available.

Run with Governor Markell! Make Delaware first in volunteerism.

FAMILY FUN - FOOD - MUSIC - PRIZES

Links for more information:
Sign Up/Register
Register Your Volunteer Hours
Donate/Sponsor

Co-Chairs
Governor Jack Markell and the State of Delaware Office of Volunteerism
Governor Jack Markell and the State Office of Volunteerism lead the effort statewide to multiply, record and encourage volunteering through BetterDelaware.org. The Jefferson Awards is an active partner working with them to help them meet their objectives.

New Castle County Executive and the New Castle County Office of Volunteerism
For four years, Chris Coons and New Castle County have been Jefferson Awards Champions. The Jefferson Awards worked with New Castle County to establish the County Office of Volunteerism.

The Mayor and the City of Wilmington
For three years, Jim Baker and the City of Wilmington have been Jefferson Awards Champions. The City of Wilmington honors their outstanding volunteers with Jefferson Awards.

The News Journal
Since 1977, the News Journal has been a Jefferson Awards Media Partner. They select and feature an outstanding Delaware volunteer each month.

The Delaware State Chamber of Commerce
The Delaware State Chamber of Commerce will invite their members and their employees to respond to the Governor's initiative to ask their employees to record all volunteer hours and to participate in the Race.

Nemours, a children's healthcare system
Watch for Jada, Min, Brian and Andres - The Mighty Timoneers - award winning characters based on Nemours' prescription for a healthy lifestyle 5-2-1-Almost None, and staff from Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children will be among the crowd cheering on the runners and spreading the news about healthy eating and physical activity.

The Delaware Community Foundation
The Delaware Community Foundation will administer the Race proceeds for the Youth Leadership Scholarship Fund to support high school students who demonstrate leadership through volunteerism.

The Role of the Jefferson Awards
The Jefferson Awards were started in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, U.S. Senator Robert Taft, Jr. and Sam Beard to create a Nobel Prize for public and community service. See: www.jeffersonawards.org

Since 1977 the Jefferson Awards has partnered with the News Journal to highlight outstanding grassroots volunteers. The News Journal features an outstanding volunteer each month. Across the country the Jefferson Awards have over 155 newspapers and television stations that serve as Jefferson Awards Media Partners in over 75 communities.

Beginning in 2004, the Jefferson Awards are pioneering the creation of a statewide "Call to Action for Volunteering."

With Deloitte, we have launched our Students In Action to pass the tradition of service on to future generations. We are currently operating in 32 Delaware high schools. Deloitte has committed over $1 million of in-kind services to work with the Jefferson Awards to create a "7 Deliverables" turnkey system to institutionalize and multiply volunteer service in Delaware's high schools. The process is driven by training one Jefferson Student Leader in each grade in each high school. The University of Delaware trains the high school leaders in a 2-year, 24-hour classroom Leadership Training. Students In Action is now operating in 9 communities nationwide in 250 high schools. By 2012, the 40th Anniversary of the Jefferson Awards, the vision is to be in 20 Leadership Communities, operating in 2,000 high schools, affecting 2 million students and training 4,000 to 6,000 student leaders per year.

Delaware Jefferson Awards Board and "Fill The Need"
The April 5 Race for a Better Delaware - First in Service is the idea and first project of the Jefferson Awards Board in Delaware.