2009 Volunteers of the Year: Jacqueline Burgeson

Divide the number of hours Jacqueline Burgeson has donated to Goodwill/Easter Seals (36,000) by the average number of hours a full-time employee works each year (2,080), and you’ll find that she has donated 17 years to the organization without collecting a dime—at least not for herself. “When you and your kids are healthy and happy, there is no reason not to give back,” Burgeson says. Her work with the organization began 47 years ago, when she planned its annual StyleShows. She worked her way up to president of the board of the Minnesota chapter of Goodwill Industries Volunteer Services, which earned her a spot on the board of directors. She’s chaired multi-million-dollar capital campaigns and has been showered with local, national, and international awards, including the Goodwill Industries International’s Elsine Katz Volunteer Leader of the Year in 2002. Now 78, she still volunteers 30 hours a week. “I’m going to do it as long as I am able,” Burgeson says.