Jason Bakke receives a 2018 Governor’s Outstanding Volunteer Award
In a ceremony held at the Dover Downs Hotel on Oct. 24, 2018, Delaware Gov. John Carney recognized 23 individuals and groups as recipients of the 2018 Governor’s Outstanding Volunteer Awards. Jason Bakke, a volunteer for the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs’ Zwaanendael Museum, was honored in the awards program’s Arts and Culture category for his work in developing programming for the museum and expanding its outreach beyond Lewes into Sussex County.
Following is information on Bakke’s contributions that appeared in the 2018 Governor’s Outstanding Volunteer Awards program book. The paragraph was written by Kaitlyn Dykes, a former site interpreter at the museum:
Jason Bakke has been volunteering in one capacity or another since the age of 12 for the Zwaanendael Museum in Lewes, which commemorates Delaware’s first European colony and is a showcase for the Lewes area’s maritime, military and social history. Serving the museum as an educator and interpreter, a researcher, a program developer and a performer, Jason has been instrumental in assisting museum staff to expand its outreach beyond Lewes and further into Sussex County. His research for programming is tireless, and he even does some of that work from home without recording his hours. He acts as an educator at special events, runs stations ranging from colonial games to merchant displays, and explains exhibits and provides contextual information to guests. In 2017 alone, Jason volunteered more than 100 hours of service and helped the museum reach and provide education and entertainment to innumerable people.
The Governor’s Outstanding Volunteer Service Awards, administered by the State Office of Volunteerism, honors the contributions of individuals and groups in Delaware that have made a positive impact in their communities or across the state through service and volunteering. In 2017, 17,815 Delaware adults volunteered their time as part of the Volunteer Delaware program, contributing more than 700,000 hours of service to nonprofits and community organizations. The value of their service is estimated at more than $17.4 million.
Commenting on the individuals and groups that volunteer their time and talents in Delaware, Gov. Carney noted, “Each day across our state, thousands of volunteers come together with the common purpose to make a difference in the lives of the people they serve. Those volunteers don’t ask for anything in return, because they know in helping others, they enhance their own lives.”
The Governor’s Outstanding Volunteer Service Awards are sponsored by the Office of the Governor, the Department of Health and Social Services, Division of State Service Centers and the State Office of Volunteerism, as well as the Governor’s Commission on Community and Volunteer Service.