DEBBIE WOLINSKY

Debbie Wolinsky donates hundreds of hours of service to her community each year as advisor of her school’s international award winning Key Club. Under her mentorship, students have learned the value of giving of their time treasures and talents to make our community a better place in which to live. She donates countless hours of her time to the numerous projects that her students are involved in as she teaches them the meaning of service.

Debbie has led students as they created a program for families touched by the tragedy of fire. The “Extinguish the Need” program that this group started is now a permanent fixture in the Indianapolis community with the opening next month of the Extinguish the need House by the People’s Burn Foundation. Her students continue to educate kindergarten students about the need for bur safety. Over the past five years, they have presented their program to over two thousand children.

Over the past year and a half, she has worked with the students in Key Club to raise more than $70,000 for breast cancer research through the sale of bracelets made by club members. Many hours are spent with students making bracelets out of swarovski crystal and sterling silver beads. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of these bracelets is donated.

On any given day, you can find her with students, performing some kind of community service. Even though she receives a small stipend for 150 hours of her time, it does not begin to cover the cost of five hundred hours of her time every year to ensure that students have the opportunity to experience community service in a fun and meaningful way. Over the past seven years, she has involved hundreds of high school students in this activity. Many return from college to share their continued joy of serving and are making lasting impacts on their communities.