8/5/2005 - AFS Galatti Award Nomination Period Opens
With more that 30,000 active volunteers and hundreds of thousands of supporters, AFS is one of the largest community based organizations in the world. Without our volunteers and supporters we would not be able to carry out our mission to promote a more just and peaceful world. Every year, in honor of the dedication and untiring efforts of our global volunteer corps, we ask our worldwide AFS Partners to nominate an outstanding volunteer for the Galatti Award.
The Galatti Award is the most prestigious commendation that the AFS Network can bestow upon a volunteer. AFS volunteers are recognized in the name of AFS founder, Stephen Galatti, for their extraordinary service and dedication to AFS.
The Galatti Award
Established in 1983, the Galatti Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service honors AFS community volunteers whose commitment and exceptional dedication have advanced the mission and goals of AFS. The award is presented annually to show our appreciation for up to three AFS volunteers who, over a sustained period of time, have provided long term outstanding support to AFS at the grassroots level. The Galatti Award is open to any AFS volunteer who has not previously received it and who is not serving on an AFS Partner Board or the Board of Trustees at the time of their nomination. The winners are selected by the Executive Committee of the AFS International Board of Trustees. The award winners will be announced in early December to coincide with International Volunteer Day on December 5.
AFS Founder Stephen Galatti
Stephen Galatti was an idealist, a visionary, a trail blazer and a pragmatist who built and transformed AFS from an organization that transported the war wounded into one that now provides international and intercultural exchange programs to over 11,000 participants every year.
Galatti took the helm of AFS in 1936 as Director General. During his 28 years of service, he worked tirelessly to involve ever larger number of participants, families, and countries. Beginning with 10 countries in 1947, the AFS family of nations had grown to include 59 countries by the time of Galatti’s death in 1964. Since 1947, over 325,000 individuals and an equal number of host families have had the AFS experience.
Although he was the driving force of AFS, Galatti relied heavily on the corps of volunteers he developed over the years, even in the early days; he knew that the success of AFS depended on its volunteers.
Because of Galatti’s foresight and commitment to community service, AFS today continues to value its volunteers and recognize them as the lifeblood of AFS programs. It is in tribute to both Galatti and to dedicated AFS volunteers that the Galatti Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service has been established.
AFS Volunteer Exemplars
Every volunteer who has received the Galatti Award has had an outstanding service record with AFS. Last year’s three winners were no exception.
Jerene Thomas from the U.S dedicated the last 45 years to AFS. Since 1960, she has “grandmothered” over 1,000 AFS exchange students and hosted ten participants on one-year programs.
Di Yan, our 2004 winner from China, began her volunteer service after she returned from her teacher program experience in the U.S. in 1993. Since that year, Di Yan arranged orientations and support for visiting teachers and high school exchange students, among many other volunteer contributions. Her volunteer outreach expanded beyond Beijing to other cities across China.
Traudl Stürmer has volunteered for AFS Germany for the past 25 years. Traudl’s volunteer experience began in Frankonia where she founded the AFS Coburg Chapter. In 2001 she moved to the Munich Chapter where she grew hosting numbers from 5 to 20 students per year and soon became president of one of Germany’s most efficient chapters.
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