Countywide : $30,000 Awarded to Volunteers’ Charities

One volunteer provides guidance to abused children. Others raise funds for the arts or deliver meals to the elderly and infirm.

Such acts of charity and the spirit of volunteerism demonstrated by 15 individuals were honored Tuesday at the second annual Volunteers of Distinction Award, sponsored by The Times Orange County.

The Times created the awards to encourage volunteerism in the community. The newspaper contributed $5,000 to each of the five award recipients’ charities and $500 each to a charity selected by the other honorees. The Times contributed a total of $30,000.

The recipients and finalists in five categories, their hometown and charity organization, are as follows:

* Service by Youth: Silvia Gonzalez, 17, Seal Beach, Interval House Crisis Shelters. She offers guidance and support to Latino children who have been victims of domestic violence. Finalists were Elaine Lu, Fountain Valley, Shelter for the Homeless; and Gabriel Samayoa, Santa Ana, the American Red Cross, Orange County chapter.

* Arts: Nancy Snyder, Laguna Beach, Art Institute of Southern California. Snyder helped raise $176,000 to buy land for expansion of the institute. Finalists were Virginia DeLand, Yorba Linda, Yorba Linda Civic Light Opera; and Laila Strott Conlin, Newport Beach, Opera Pacific.

* Health: Burton Huss, Orange, St. Joseph Hospital. Huss donated more than 2,000 volunteer hours last year at the hospital, which is more than any other volunteer in the institution’s history. Finalists were Agnes Burghardt, Orange, Chapter 18 of the Ostomy Assn. of Orange County; and Dr. Thomas Shaver, Mission Viejo, The Foundation, Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center.

* Community Service: Betty Lundin, Anaheim, Meals on Wheels of Anaheim. Lundin makes sure that 125 people receive two meals a day. Finalists were Randy Barth, Newport Beach, Orange County Homeless Issues Task Force; and Teri Howes, Irvine, South Coast Literacy Council.

* Services For Children: Laura Manassero, Placentia, Make-A-Wish Foundation. Manassero made possible the wishes of 14 terminally ill children, at times using her own money. Finalists were Lucille Thure, La Habra, PTA Thrift Shop of La Habra; and Betty Shaw, Brea, La Habra United Methodist “Homework Club.”

The volunteers honored were picked from more than 200 entries submitted by either charitable organizations or volunteers. The awards were based on work done in 1993. Entries were judged based on a variety of criteria, including the volunteers’ contribution to a needed service, initiative demonstrated, impact on the community, time devoted to service and special challenges overcome.

Winners were selected by a five-member panel of local community leaders, including Judge B. Tam Nomoto of Central Orange County Municipal Court; Beth Burns, founder and artistic director of the Saint Joseph Ballet Co.; Bill Wood, vice president of community relations for PacifiCare Health Systems; and Jo Ellen Qualls, vice president of Tiffany & Co.