Julie and Ben Rogers Award Recipient-Antonio Barrientos
Antonio “Tony” Barrientos, director of the Lamar State College-Orange Learning Center, was selected as one of the four 2007 recipients for the Julie and Ben Rogers Volunteer Award. A recipient from each of the four local college campuses: Lamar State College-Orange, Lamar State College-Port Arthur, Lamar Institute of Technology and Lamar University, are honored each year for their work volunteering to a variety of charitable organizations in Southeast Texas.
A frequent visitor of the LifeShare Blood Center, Barrientos has become a blood component donor regular. The donations consist of platelets and platelets and plasma, or red cells. He serves on the organization’s civic advisory group and participates in blood drives at local school districts, LSC-O and Lamar University. He speaks to students about the need for blood and marrow donations, the processes involved and how these donations save the lives of others. “Many students are not aware of the importance of donating,” said Barrientos. “I share how rewarding and important it is to donate blood and to become a registered marrow donor.”
Barrientos volunteers at the annual Miracle Match for Life Golf Tournament, the Gulf Coast Marrow Donor Program and the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life where he is a member of the Trace’s Trail Walkers.
The team was formed by family members and friends when his nephew, Trace Shannon, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblast Leukemia two months before his second birthday. Shannon received treatment, which included a bone marrow transplant, and is now living life as a typical child, but Barrientos and his team continue to participate in the walk to raise awareness and money to help find a cure.
A collection point for aluminum can pull tabs can be found in his office. The tabs are donated to the Ronald McDonald House of Houston. Funds from the tabs are used to purchase food, cleaning supplies and to cover the cost of transportation to the Texas Medical Center for the families using the facility.
After Hurricane Katrina, Barrientos worked at Ford Park as a volunteer, assembling cots, distributing food, water and clothing and registering new arrivals. He also tutored students, entered information into a database and helped individuals seeking employment.
More volunteering by Barrientos includes the March of Dimes Walk America by raising money and assisting walkers. At Our Mother of Mercy Catholic School he has served as a judge for the science fair of grades two through five and he regularly participates in fund-raising, charitable activities held on the LSC-O campus.
