News Article

Gonzaga University student Christina Canaday, a freshman from Sacramento, Calif., will accept an award from Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire on Monday, April 24, at the Governor’s Mansion in Olympia for her outstanding volunteer efforts in the community. Canaday said her mother will travel from Sacramento to attend the ceremony with her.

Canaday and the other award recipients will be recognized by the Washington Commission for National and Community Service (WCNCS) as representing the best qualities of the many individual volunteers who serve their communities statewide.

Canaday has been involved in the Gonzaga University Partners Project and was nominated for the award by Josh Kurz, coordinator of the program in a selection process conducted by the Washington Service Corps. The ceremony, which is scheduled for 2-3 p.m., will kick off National Volunteer Week.

The Partners Project is a literacy and tutoring program that focuses on providing tutors to Stevens, Logan, and Grant elementary schools in all subjects; the teachers request tutors, and the Project tries to match volunteers with them.
Kurz said he first met Canaday at Reality Camp, a week of service activities that occurs before Freshman Orientation each fall.

“Christina was an enthusiastic and exemplary participant there,” Kurz said. “A few days later, she became one of the Partners Project’s first volunteers for the year. Since then, she has been an outstanding member of the Partners Project community. She is always willing to serve; in fact, she spent most of fall semester begging for more service hours.”

In addition to her commitment to the Partners Project, Canaday is an active and leading member of the Justice Club, which has been integral to the planning and design of a proposal to launch a Peace Studies minor or major at Gonzaga. Canaday resides in the community service themed residence hall on campus.

“Christina has been a model volunteer and deserves to be recognized for her incredible dedication to social justice,” Kurz said.

For more information, please contact Josh Kurz at (509) 323-5524 or via e-mail at kurz@gonzaga.edu.