Johnstown residents to receive recognition
State Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambra, will honor two Johnstown residents Thursday with the second annual Charlie Vizzini Volunteerism awards.
Tiffany A. Jones and Conner C. Hagins, both of Johnstown, will receive the awards at a 6 p.m. banquet at the Noon-Collins Inn in Ebensburg.
Jones is an active member of St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, where she is also a member of its youth group, according to an information release. She has volunteered to help others in the community, and recently traveled to Peru to distribute toiletries and other goods to a small village. That work is in addition to volunteering at numerous local charitable organizations.
Hagins started a program called Cuddles for Kids, a nonprofit charity that has donated 107,000 items worth about $500,000 to local, national and worldwide organizations, according to the release. The organization has sent toys to Haitian orphanages in Mexico and to children in Afghanistan.
Hagins also has launched multiple partnerships with local police departments and the county district attorney’s office, and has purchased new bicycle helmets for children whose families cannot afford them, the release said.
The awards to be granted are named after Charlie Vizzini, who amassed more than 8,000 hours by volunteering in Burns’ legislative office, saving taxpayers an estimated $80,000.