Nicole Echols Receives Fred R. Sheheen Award for Excellence

Florence News Journal

Nicole Echols of Harvest Hope Food Bank received the Fred R. Sheheen Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership.

The award recognizes individuals of the statewide nonprofit membership organization Together SC, who have utilized organizational and resource development to effectively manage a nonprofit group. It is sponsored by the Fred Sheheen Non-Profit Leadership Institute at Francis Marion University.

Echols is the 13th recipient of the award. In 2018, Nicole returned to Harvest Hope Food Bank after three years with the American Red Cross. She had previously worked there from 2011-2015.

The mission of Harvest Hope is to provide for the needs of hungry people by gathering and sharing quality food with dignity, compassion and education. Upon returning, Nicole had a vision of where the organization was going and began to implement necessary and positive changes. This included recruiting a diverse advisory board, a referral-based food pantry, and a giveaway for government employees impacted by the government shutdown. In addition to her work with Harvest Hope, Echols is an active board member for various other nonprofit groups including Women in Philanthropy, MINGLE of the Pee Dee, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and Florence First Steps.

“When your paycheck, passion and purpose all align, you are destined for excellence and great things. I am truly humbled, but I didn’t do anything different than any of you, or our Harvest Hope team and our donors and wonderful volunteers and supporters did this morning. You all woke up with a passion to help someone in need. For that, each one of us deserves this award,”said Echols.

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