Lander resident Carol Smith has been selected to receive two national volunteer awards from the American Cancer Society this year: the Patient Support Volunteer Award for Excellence and the Road To Recovery Outstanding Volunteer Award.
Both awards recognize Smith’s “dedication to the organization’s vision of ending cancer as we know it, for everyone,” the ACS said in a press release this week.
“Carol is making such significant contributions to the Fremont County area,” ACS Associate Director for Community Implementation Bill Junge said. “Her dedication of time, her actions and talents are making a difference.”
Smith began volunteering with the ACS in 2008, when she began her 10-year run as a local Relay for Life event lead in Lander, the press release states, but she is “best known” for bringing the ACS Road to Recovery program to Fremont County.
“With most of the county considered rural, area residents must often travel over 60 miles one way to get to their cancer treatment,” the press release states. “Many rural residents live on ranches and farms, so it’s often difficult to schedule overnight stays near cancer centers. To help address these issues, Carol began working with the American Cancer Society in 2018 to launch the Road To Recovery program in Fremont and helped build up the program to where it is today.”
Now, Smith “actively promotes” the Road To Recovery program throughout the county through volunteer fairs, community events, church activities, local doctor’s offices, and in the local media, the ACS said.
“She is also a volunteer driver herself and personally engages local volunteers, welcoming new drivers and ensuring all drivers are comfortable in their roles,” the press release states. “Carol also helps recruit additional drivers as the need arises.”
In addition, the ACS said, “not only does Carol monitor ride requests to ensure riders are picked up by volunteer drivers, she provides each rider with a mug filled with treats with a special thank-you card.”
“Carol is an amazing supporter of the American Cancer Society and is often the first person to step up and offer help with mission-related tasks,” the press release states. “She engages with focus groups and participates in other fact-finding opportunities, sharing valuable feedback with her ACS partners.”
The Patient Support Volunteer Award for Excellence recognizes an ACS volunteer or health system champion who has made “an incredible impact on the lives of people with cancer and their families through one of our mission-driven patient support programs or by reducing cancer disparities through increasing cancer screening and/or HPV vaccination,” the ACS said.
Smith said she is “honored and humbled to have received this award,” which “would not have been possible without all the past and present Fremont County Road to Recovery drivers who have gone above and beyond for our community members.”
“It takes a village,” she said.
The ACS will honor Smith with a celebration at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 26, in the Pinnacle Room inside Mamaw’s Kitchen, 260 Grandview Drive in Lander.
For more information, visit cancer.org.