Congratulations to Valerie Rust of the Starfish Project of Richland County. She is this year's JoAnn Dutton Award recipient.

Cathy Goldman, (on the left) is JoAnn Dutton’s Daughter and she announced the award during The Women's Fund annual grant awards luncheon yesterday.

The award celebrates the vital contributions that women make in all sectors of the community through volunteer service. It honors women who have devoted a significant amount of time and energy in a meaningful way to local charitable organizations.

Valerie is devoted to addressing drug addiction and is the driving force behind the Starfish Project of Richland County.

The organization was created by concerned community members to provide funds to enable individuals with a wide-variety of life-controlling problems such as drug addition to participate in the Teen Challenge Program and obtain a healthy life of recovery and spirituality. They are dedicated to changing our community, one life at a time.