Angie Van Diver just earned the prestigious honor of being named the Joyce Gean Outstanding Volunteer for the Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center (ECCAC). With the longest record of volunteering, Van Diver has volunteered twice a week at ECCAC’s Niceville center for over twenty years.

She works the front desk, which involves answering the phone, greeting clients and visitors, assisting children and their families where needed, taking care of the kitchen, keeping the coffee going and making cookies on Monday mornings. Basically the volunteers are there to be of assistance with whatever is needed to support the center’s staff and clients.

“I have always enjoyed working with children,” said Van Diver, a resident of Destin since 1967, “When I first learned of ECCAC’s plans for their Niceville center, I wanted to contribute somehow to being a part of helping children and families. I didn’t know what exactly that would be then. But I love working the front desk and being able to maybe make someone else’s day a little brighter, a little easier along the way.”

Van Diver also referenced a quote that is meaningful to her in her volunteer work and daily life. It is by the American author and motivational speaker, Leo Buscaglia, whose philosophy is too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring, all of which has the potential to turn a life around.

ECCAC’s client care manager, Angie Harder, works closely with Van Diver. She commented, “Angie is a privilege to work with, her passion and dedication are a blessing to many children here at the Center. Mondays are sweeter thanks to her made from scratch cookies.” ECCAC’s mission is to prevent child abuse and neglect, protect children in Okaloosa and Walton Counties and restore the lives and futures of these impacted children. Their child-friendly centers house a multidisciplinary team of child protection personnel, prosecutors, law enforcement, DCF, therapists, ECCAC staff and volunteers. In their 20-year history, the 501-C-3 non-profit organization has provided more than 170,000 services at no cost to over 15,000 children.

For further information, visit www.eccac.org. If abuse is suspected, call the anonymous Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-96-ABUSE.

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