Celebrate Community Service at the 2023 Heroes Have Heart Celebration
Submitted by Terri Clark and April Howard
Organizers are gearing up for the 2nd Annual Heroes Have Heart Celebration on September 23rd from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Elko Conference Center. The Heroes Have Heart Celebration started last year as a way to honor those who serve, increase awareness of resources in the community, and encourage community service.
The Celebration is championed by JustServe.org, a website that lists community service opportunities free of charge for non-profit and government agencies that need volunteers or non-monetary donations. The 2023 major sponsors include Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital, the Elko Senior Center, Stanfill Consulting, Ruby Mountain Relay, and Kinross Gold.
Everyone who attends the Heroes Have Heart Celebration is encouraged to dress as their favorite hero. Volunteer heroes—from princesses to Marvel characters—roam throughout the conference center where attendees can take pictures with them.
The conference center will be filled with organizations that serve the community as well as a variety of fun family games and activities to keep everyone entertained. A Hero Wall will once again display notes recognizing favorite local heroes.
This year, organizers are proud to announce that they will host the Cowboy Color Run with all proceeds going to charity. In addition, prizes donated by local businesses will be raffled to raise funds for the food bank at the Elko Senior Center.
Last year’s participants and attendees were thrilled with the turnout. “The event was fantastic!” said Elisha Gift of the Northern Nevada Moses Project. “We do events often, but the people were so receptive and kind. I believe it was the best event we have ever done.”
Lynetta Vega hosted a booth for Zero Suicides Elko County. “Everyone was receptive at the event when they approached us. I had a couple of people that wanted to volunteer and that never happens,” she said. “I had a great time and everyone that was there from the community commented on how much fun they had. It was a great event!”
“We were so impressed at the turnout,” stated Teah Ballard of Elko F.I.S.H. “We enjoyed the day and had lots of contact with other organizations, learning more about the community. We really enjoyed sharing about our services and mission with the public.”
Lauryn Winn, a PACE Coalition community health worker, agreed. “I thought the event was amazing! We had a blast running our booth, and my daughter loved walking around and checking it all out as well.”
Organizers are hoping this year’s event will be even bigger and better. If you are interested in becoming a vendor or helping with the event, or if you would like to list your volunteer opportunity on JustServe.org, please contact April Howard at JustServeElko@gmail.com or 775-934-0027. If you would like to sign up for the Cowboy Color Run, visit https://rubymountainrelay.com/race-series. We look forward to seeing everyone on September 23rd.