Essential Service Workers

We extend our sincerest gratitude to those phenomenal heroes who support essential services, whenever and wherever we need them.

Grand Prize Winner

Jana Smith

Partner Charity

Phoenix ToolBank

To date, Jana has collaborated to secure over 2.5 million pieces of free, donated personal protective equipment to over 650 unique organizations. From Yuma to Tuba City/Navajo Reservation and all throughout Maricopa County, the PPE she’s worked to provide has helped protect everyone from children to seniors, teachers to social workers, and even our first responders! Jana’s commitment is a rallying cry to not only do what is right, but to do it with passion and excellence.

The Phoenix Community ToolBank is a nonprofit tool-lending program that provides Arizona not-for-profit organizations with access to an inventory of tools for use in projects, volunteer events, and facility and grounds maintenance. Learn more about them here!

Essential Service Workers

Other Winners

See other Essential Service Front Line Heroes who have gone above and beyond to keep us protected during this deadly pandemic.

Patricia Jacques
As an outreach specialist with the Project for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) for Catholic Charities, Ms. Jacques works tirelessly to ensure no one falls through the cracks–and does so with compassion and without judgement. From connecting homeless people with much needed resources and housing to providing food and toys to people in need on the Hualapai Reservation, Ms. Jacques helps some of the community’s most vulnerable people with grace and honor.
Marie Andrus
When the pandemic shut down the district’s schools, Zuni Hills Elementary School’s lunchroom lead Ms. Andrus was first to step up to make sure ALL of her students got the healthy meals they needed. Personally packaging and distributing lunches to families throughout the district, Ms. Andrus often hand-delivers food to families in need in her own vehicle, and has even transported dirty dishes to another school to wash them when the water went out in her own cafeteria.

Loretta Aja
When the pandemic shuttered childcare centers across the state, Ms. Aja chose to remain open to provide childcare for families who had no choice but to work. When grocery store shelves were being cleared, she shopped for food and snacks and created “The Weekender,” a bag for each child to take home on Friday, to help the family avoid crowded stores over the weekend. Ms. Aja’s sheer dedication to supporting working families has no bounds.
Leo Carrillo
Mr. Carrillo is affectionately known for bringing comfort and kindness to family and friends in the midst of their grief and loss. As the owner of Carrillo’s Tucson Mortuary, he and his staff have been on the front lines of bereavement during the profound number of deaths caused by COVID-19, performing not only mortuary duties, but often bringing hope and light to grieving families in dark times. Mr. Carrillo has donated his Front Line Hero reward of $1,000 to the Casa de La Luz Foundation.