RSVP Volunteers Receive Recognition

By Nancy K. Crevier

Ellen Melville, director of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) for Northern Fairfield County, was on hand at the Newtown Senior Center Thursday, March 30, to recognize the many seniors who have given a total of 3,944 hours of volunteer services to various agencies in and around the area this past year.

“That is just an amazing number of hours,” Ms Melville told the seniors. “It translates to a dollar value in service of $69,000 and that is just in the eight towns that make up our district.” The Northern Fairfield County region includes towns “from Newtown to Sherman and from Danbury to Ridgefield,” said Ms Melville. In Newtown alone, she said, there are 30 RSVP members who volunteer as literacy volunteers, at the senior center, as friendly visitors to other seniors, at the Danbury food pantry, at Ashlar, American Red Cross blood services, and the American Cancer Society and as drivers.

RSVP provides support services to local nonprofit programs and agencies and is sponsored by the Western Connecticut Chapter of the American Red Cross.

This year, Ms Melville was pleased to award to 22 Newtown RSVP volunteers the special President’s Volunteer Service Award instituted by President George W. Bush in 2005 to honor the many Americans who give of their time and life experiences to enhance the lives of others. Volunteers who served more than 100 hours received a bronze award; volunteers received the silver award for giving between 249 and 500 hours of service; the gold award was given for 500 hours and up of volunteer service.

Gold awards went to David W. Lowry, Carmella Maturi, and a mother/daughter volunteer team, Frances Van Want and Barbara Wallenta. Mrs Van Want and Ms Wallenta have knitted hundreds of skeins of yarn into caps, shawls, sweaters, blankets, and booties for numerous charities and agencies in Connecticut.

Dorothy Bartlett, Anne Hoitko, Mary G. Maye, Beatrice Piskura, Jean Reilly, and Hazel Tilson were the recipients of silver awards.

Bronze awards went to Dorothy Bresson, Laura Hewitt, Louise Morgan, Viola Murray, Leonore Niedzielski, Antoinette Oman, Lois Pratt, Irene Radun, Aida Reiske, Thelma Saunders, Elizabeth Waite, and Peg Watson.

A special lifetime President’s Volunteer Service Award was presented to Jean Reilly for more than 4,000 hours of volunteer service in her lifetime.

Without the RSVP volunteers, said Ms Melville, filling the positions to provide adequate support services to nonprofit agencies would be very difficult.