50 years of VOLUNTEERS

Since day one, the Center has been a resource for our entire community—not just for seniors—by providing volunteers and help with service projects for nonprofits from Habitat for Humanity to Hospice of the Piedmont. One project Center members have had a hand in for half a century is Pinkie the Puppet, run in conjunction with the UVa Hospital Auxiliary. Our dedicated volunteers make more than 300 puppets a year, which are delivered to the hospital and given to children being admitted for treatment.

Community service is one of the Center’s key values, and we walk the talk by having a fulltime Coordinator of Volunteer Resources that enables us to match volunteers with areas of interest not just at the Center, but in the community. Through our community volunteer program, more than 450 Senior Center members contribute wisdom, experience, and time to serve people through other nonprofits, making a positive difference for our entire region.

So, to honor their work and the work of thousands more in our community who value volunteerism, it seemed most appropriate to kick off the celebration of our 50th birthday with “50 Ways in a Day.” This initiative provided volunteer work in over 50 different ways on the Martin Luther King Day of Service in January. Projects sites included The Haven at First and Market, PACEM, Monticello’s Jefferson Library, Hope House, JABA, Literacy Volunteers, the SPCA, and Service Dogs of Virginia.

For “50 Ways in A Day,” Chuck St. Clair and Ed Ansell help out at the Salvation Army soup kitchen; Gil Roy offers insights on chess and life to Broadus Wood Elementary School students; and Rosanne Casey makes stuffed bears for Hospice of the Piedmont’s “Journeys Bearables” program. Pinkie Puppets (also pictured above)—one of our original service projects—is still going strong. This page: James “Mike” Michaels and Richard Cook make a new friend at the SPCA; Liz Allan tutors at Literacy Volunteers.

5