HOLYOKE — Imagine serving coffee, cooking meals, planning trips and knitting sweaters for more than 4,000 hours — not for oneself, but for others; not for pay, but for charity.
These are just a few of the ways that RSVP of Hampshire & Franklin Counties volunteers serve their communities.
Last Thursday, four of those volunteers passed this threshold of 4,000 hours and were awarded a President’s Lifetime Achievement Award from the organization, which is part of the Hampshire Council of Governments. At a packed ceremony inside the Log Cabin in Holyoke, the volunteers were honored during an annual volunteer recognition luncheon.
The winners of this year’s award were Doris Hebert and Kay Madden of Easthampton, Joan Staszko of Southampton and Jane Nevinsmith of Hadley. In addition to local recognition, the four were recognized by U.S. Rep. James McGovern and U.S. Sen. Ed Markey through special proclamations.
Hebert is a longtime volunteer at the Cooley Dickinson Hospital’s coffee shop; Madden knits and crochets items for newborns, veterans and terminally ill people with the Crafts Group at the Easthampton Community Center; Staszko packs brown bags with groceries at the Easthampton Community Center for seniors; and Nevinsmith volunteers at the Hadley Senior Community Center.
Nevinsmith has volunteered at the Hadley center since 2001, after retiring from entrepreneurship. She organizes fundraisers to raise money for things not included in the town of Hadley’s budget — printing the senior center’s newsletter, for example. Nevinsmith is also involved in key decisions pertaining to the construction of a new senior center building, and is a member of the building’s planning committee.
“I live in Hadley, I’m retired and volunteering seemed like it was a good thing to do,” Nevinsmith said.
Nevinsmith has no plans to slow down, and she’s already thinking ahead about how to improve the senior center. For example, she has organized a wine-tasting fundraiser at the senior center on Thursday, Oct. 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. Those 21 years old are invited to attend, and the money will go toward the center’s programs for seniors.
Nevinsmith is also focused on funding for the new building, which will be constructed behind the current senior center. She appreciates the recognition for her volunteer service, but was surprised about where the award came from.
“The thing that surprised me was I expected the award to be from RSVP, but, no, it’s the United States President’s Lifetime Achievement Award,” Nevinsmith said.
The President’s Lifetime Achievement Award, also known as the President’s Call to Service Award, was started by George W. Bush in 2003.
Volunteers who approach RSVP want to put their individual skills to use at one of the program’s partner organizations, which include hospitals, senior centers, libraries and nonprofits. RSVP matches the volunteers to the appropriate program. The volunteers must be at least 55 years old.
“One of the things that’s so special about RSVP is that it’s not just, ‘hey, I’m here to help out.’ Instead, we ask them, ‘hey, what are you good at,’ find out what volunteer programs fit and what help they need, and then we connect those things,” said Catherine Welker, spokeswoman for HCG.
“The volunteers are great. People like Nevinsmith, for example, who basically runs the senior center. The director [of the senior center] calls her her right hand person,” Welker said. “So, recognizing that is important.”
RSVP typically has three to six volunteers who reach the 4,000 lifetime volunteer hours mark each year, and 28 active volunteers have previously received the award and continue to serve.