“Helping others gives us the opportunity to enhance our own lives, as well as the lives of others. Too often, we fail to realize the impact we can have in someone else’s life by giving selflessly of our time and talents. I want to help connect Arkansans to resources and information that will empower and encourage them to volunteer.”
First Lady Ginger Beebe
First Lady Ginger Beebe credits her parents—who adopted her when she was four years old—with instilling in her the values of helping others by volunteering her time within her community. When Mrs. Beebe became Arkansas’s First Lady, she brought with her many years of experience as a wife who supported her husband during twenty-four years of public service, as a mother who has raised three children, and as a community volunteer.
Mrs. Beebe has been involved with the CARTI Searcy Auxiliary, the Central Arkansas Hospital Auxiliary, the White County Rape Crisis Center, and the Searcy Junior Auxiliary. She spent many years teaching Sunday school and children’s choir. Currently, the First Lady serves on the boards of the CARTI Foundation, the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas, and the Arkansas Discovery Network.
This summer, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama declared a summer-service initiative, “United We Serve”. Mrs. Beebe contributed to this summer of service by encouraging Arkansans to participate in volunteer activities and then logging their hours on the official Web site of United We Serve, at serve.gov. This initiative culminated on September 11, 2009, in a National Day of Service and Remembrance. In Arkansas, the theme of National Service Day was “Together We Read”, which placed volunteer readers in every Arkansas elementary school on September 11. The event was sponsored by the First Lady in association with the Arkansas Department of Human Services’ Division of Volunteerism, the Arkansas Department of Education, Rotary International, and City Year Little Rock/North Little Rock. For more information about “United We Serve” and “Together We Read”, please follow the link below:
http://www.serve.gov/
No one in our State or in our Nation should go without food. Cognitive-learning deficits and failure-to-thrive syndrome in children, recurring illnesses among seniors, lack of productivity and absences from work, and long-term social and economic impact are among the damaging effects of food deprivation. More than seventeen percent of all Arkansans live below the federal poverty line and cannot afford to provide enough food for their families. Governor Beebe and Mrs. Beebe are committed to ending hunger and providing hope for those in need.
Mrs. Beebe encourages all Arkansans to volunteer their time to organizations that work to address the needs of Arkansans. Choose from one of those listed below or one that has personal importance to you.
Links: