Celebrate By Saying Thank You
By Joan E. Thompson

Plymouth - National Volunteer Week (April 27 – May 3) is a traditional opportunity to say “Thank You” to those who volunteer. Agencies with Volunteer Programs often schedule Volunteer Recognition events this week to compliment the national spotlight on the volunteers among us. Despite focusing on volunteer programming for 35 years, I am still awed and inspired by “unorganized” volunteering!

I called “Mary,” an RSVP volunteer who’d been serving seniors through her local Council on Aging for more than 20 years. She led their Walking Group, served at congregate meals and special events, and transported numerous elders to doctor and hospital appointments. I was calling to invite Mary to the breakfast ceremony honoring citizens who have earned the Presidential Lifetime of Service Award by virtue of 4,000 or more hours of documented volunteer service over their lifetime. It is a national honor to receive this award and I looked forward to sharing it with her.

But she didn’t join us for the occasion. Mary had become a full-time caregiver for a friend. After he suffered a stroke, she moved him into her home to help him recover. His son planned to send him to a nursing home. But the friend didn’t need nursing care. He just needed someone to care for him. So she moved him in with her to give him that care.

Mary doesn’t leave him alone for more than an hour or so at a time because he has suffered seizures since the stroke. Fortunately, she was with him when each one occurred. So she learned what to look for and has learned how to respond in case of another one. She will be there if another emergency arises and he needs her to help him through it.

Mary’s days spent caring for and tending to her friend will never be counted in any organization’s Volunteer Hours Report. She is not a part of anyone’s “program” as she looks out for her neighbor – in her own home. But I believe those hours she spends with him “count” as surely as the 4,000+ we counted from 20 years worth of Volunteer Time Sheets.

Is there a “Mary” living in your neighborhood? Could you be this kind of neighbor?

I hope you will say “Thank You” this National Volunteer Week to all the folks who help others – wherever you run in to them!

About The Author

Joan Thompson is the Executive Director for Mayflower RSVP, Inc., a non-profit organization mobilizing Volunteer Service Activities in Plymouth County. She has directed RSVP’s Retired & Senior Volunteer Program for nearly 30 years, working with 200 public/private, health, human service, and educational organizations to provide meaningful volunteer service opportunities for members in the RSVP program. She may be contacted at RSVP’s Plymouth County headquarters, (508) 746-7787 or via email at MayflowerRSVP@Verizon.net.