UF student wins E.T. York Work of Heart Award

March 22, 2013

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida student Dan Sibol won the collegiate category at the 2013 E.T. York Work of Heart Awards.

The award is given annually to honor the “best examples” of volunteerism in Alachua County.

Sibol is director of the student organization Motiv8, a College Access AmeriCorps volunteer, a tutor in the Alachua County Public Schools, a site leader for Florida Alternative Breaks and part of the Golden Key Honor Society that participates in service. He is from Melbourne and is a fourth-year statistics and political science major.

He tutors students in math, science and reading and mentors students at Howard Bishop Middle School. As a College Access AmeriCorps volunteer, he will complete 300 hours of service by August in helping students in grades 6-12 look toward higher education and their academic futures.

As a site leader for Florida Alternative Breaks, he works on issues of migrant rights. Florida Alternative Breaks is a student organization that sends college students to do service for week and weekend long periods of time to give back to the community. Each trip revolves around a particular social issue.

Sibol was nominated for the award by the Center for Leadership and Service at UF.

In 1968, E.T. York was asked by President Richard Nixon to serve on the newly formed board of directors of the National Center for Volunteer Action. While on the board, he learned of national efforts to develop local volunteer centers. York suggested to his local Gainesville Rotary Club that it spearhead the formation of such a center in Alachua County.

The Volunteer Center of Alachua County opened shortly thereafter as the Volunteer Action Center, serving the Gainesville community. York became the first board president. Until its closing, in 2007, the Volunteer Action Center helped train and teach volunteers to serve the needs of Alachua County through projects and services. There was increased recognition of the services the volunteers gave, culminating in the Work of Heart Awards.

Since 1971 the Work of Heart Awards has honored the volunteers in the community and their impact. It was renamed the “E.T. York Work of Heart Awards” in memory of York who died April 15, 2011.

For more information on the award, visit http://workofheartawards.com/. To learn more about the Center for Leadership and Service, visit http://www.leadershipandservice.ufl.edu/