Of all my favorite duties at NURSEWEEK, shining the spotlight on exceptional nurses who are doing extraordinary things ranks right at the top. Especially this year, as there will be something new and different about our Nursing Excellence Awards, scheduled for April 25 in Universal City.

While the heart of our annual event is still centered on recognizing the exceptional contributions of individual nurses, we hope we can accomplish something even grander this year, something designed to benefit the nursing community across California. In giving considerable thought to the needs of our profession and talking to key nursing colleagues throughout the state, NURSEWEEK has decided to donate the proceeds from this year's event to establish the California Fund for Nurses.

This means that this year's event will have a new philanthropic focus directed at supporting California nursing in a new way. We'd like this to be a catalyst to build something lasting and important, something that can help strengthen nursing in the state.

The fund will be administered by the California Institute for Nursing and Healthcare, a new nonprofit organization focused on strengthening nursing in the state. It will be used to support workforce development efforts across California, including providing support for nursing students, scholarships, faculty development efforts and special projects to strengthen nursing. (A portion of the ticket cost is tax-deductible.)

Although our focus on recognizing nursing excellence will not change, we would like to attract vendors, sponsors and patrons who are interested in supporting the greater nursing community with their financial assistance. We hope that this philanthropic focus will ignite a broader interest in supporting the initiatives that are desperately needed to build and strengthen nursing. We also hope it will help educate and inform others as to the important contributions that nurses make throughout our health care delivery system, as well as to the lives of every Californian.

We also hope that you will consider joining us for this celebration of nursing, where our most important attendees are nurses. Get your colleagues together and come help us celebrate. It will be great fun, and all for a good cause.

Lastly, a quick reminder: I hope you have already sent us your nominations to honor those nurses who are doing something special. If not, then get busy. The most successful nominations are those that tell us how a nurse's contributions distinguish him or her from others. The deadline is Feb. 21. So whether by e-mail, fax or snail mail, let's hear from you. And plan on joining us for a great celebration of nursing.

Discuss this and other topics with your colleagues at www.nurseweek.com/rnvillage