Volunteers receive recognition

Local News

May 3, 2010

By Tim Mandell Register News Writer The Richmond Register Mon May 03, 2010, 02:00 PM EDT

RICHMOND — Without volunteers, the more than 60 organizations associated with the Kentucky River Foothills Community Action Partnership would be unable to meet the needs of the community.

As part of National Volunteer Week, thousands of local volunteers were honored for their work in Madison County in such places as the New Liberty Homeless Shelter, the Richmond Senior Citizens Center, the Berea Senior Citizens Shelter, Liberty Place Recovery Center for Women and the Outreach Office of Kentucky River Foothills.

“There’s no way we could operate without our volunteers here in Richmond,” said Heather Slone, director of the Richmond Senior Citizens Center. “There’s not enough staff to be able to do it on our own. We have to rely on volunteers.”

Many local volunteers were recognized during three events.

One of those events was a volunteer appreciation reception on Wednesday at the Betty Miller Community Center.

Dante Holley, of Bowling Green, is a resident at the Bluegrass Career Development Center halfway house in Richmond and also volunteers time at the New Liberty Homeless Shelter.

“I like working with people and helping the best I can,” he said. “We’re just basically there to help.”

As part of being at the halfway house, Holley and Marshall Paige of Lebanon, said they volunteer time working in a food pantry, doing maintenance work, putting together food boxes and helping to donate food to those in need.

“I like it because I get to help people,” Paige said. “It’s a learning experience for me.”

Holley and Paige said sometimes people are looking for something a simple as someone to share a conversation with, or someone to lend an ear.

Joann True has been volunteering at the Richmond Senior Citizens Center for nearly six years.

When her parents moved from Mt. Vernon to Madison County to live with her, she took them to the senior center with the hope that they would be able to meet people and become involved in social events.

True said she ended up volunteering at the center and has been involved in several activities, including leading fundraisers.

All the programs are designed to help people improve their lives, said Karen Bailey, public information and projects director for the Kentucky River Foothills Community Action Partnership.

“The goal of all the programs is to teach people to be self-sufficient,” she said. “We want to teach them the tools so they can take care of themselves.”

At organizations such as the New Liberty Homeless Shelter, volunteers help teach residents how to use public transportation, apply for and get a job and to budget their finances, said Bailey.

She said apartments for families are available for up to six months to help them get back on their feet.

The senior citizen centers offer people a place to socialize and participate in things such as bingo, field trips and playing a Nintendo Wii, Bailey said, adding that many of the people who attend the senior centers are widows, alone or isolated.

“If they don’t have that outlet of friends, it would be hard to cope,” she said.

Volunteers also are utilized for home care for homebound clients, who might need help with cleaning, errands, grooming or having a meal delivered, said Bailey.

“We deliver them a hot lunch and that might be the only meal they get that day, or at least the only hot one,” Bailey said.

Female volunteers are used at the Liberty Place Recovery Center for Women. While the residents do their own household chores, volunteers are needed to help raise awareness and money.

“There’s a lot of misconception about substance abuse and substance abuse users,” Bailey said.

Caroline Chapman, outreach coordinator for the Kentucky River Foothills Community Action Partnership, said volunteers always are needed, but especially from November through March when the Outreach Emergency Assistance program is at its busiest.

The program, which helps people pay bills, goes through periods where it might see up to 200 people per day in its office.

“We depend on volunteers,” Chapman said. “I can’t imagine what it would be like without them.”

During Wednesday’s reception, volunteers were thanked for all they had done for various organizations.

“This is really a small thing to let them know we appreciate them,” Chapman said. “We couldn’t have done it without them.”

Tim Mandell can be reached at tmandell@richmondregister.com or 623-1669 ext. 6696.

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