April 25 was Volunteer Appreciation Day at Keystone Community Services. We celebrated our volunteer team with a luncheon and awards presentation to honor the many hands it takes to accomplish incredible things in our community. More than 3,000 volunteers give their time serving in Keystone’s programs. Our volunteers extend our reach and make it possible to serve more than 8,000 people in our community each month.
On Volunteer Appreciation Day, we also honored three volunteers who were presented Keystone’s 2017 Above and Beyond Volunteer Awards. The award winners were Sue Nightingale, Judy-Ann Ehrlich, and Marilyn Taylor. These volunteers have gone above and beyond in their volunteer service at Keystone. We invite you to read more about these amazing volunteers.
Pictured above from left to right: Vicki Roscoe Ericson (award sponsor from TopLine Federal Credit Union), Sue Nightingale (award winner), Mary McKeown (Keystone President/CEO), Marilyn Taylor (award winner), and Diane Monson (award sponsor from TopLine Federal Credit Union). Not pictured: award winner Judy-Ann Ehrlich.
Sue Nightingale – Above and Beyond Volunteer Award Winner for the Keystone Senior Services Team
Sue has been a dedicated volunteer in the senior program at West 7th Community Center location for many years. Sue supports the administrative functions of the senior department in countless ways. She does important data entry to keep senior program attendance records up-to-date for grant reports, serves as the master proof-reader for the Thriving Times newsletter, organizes the “Merry Monday” social group, and also finds time to volunteer for the Fare for All program once a month. Sue always has a smile for everyone she encounters and is a perfect example of a volunteer who is always ready to lend a hand, welcome someone new and make everyone feel at home in our program.
Judy-Ann Ehrlich – Above and Beyond Volunteer Award Winner for the Keystone Basic Needs Team
Judy-Ann is the longest serving volunteer on the Keystone Foodmobile. She volunteers on the Foodmobile several times a month and always comes to her volunteer shift upbeat, energetic and ready to help people. Judy-Ann gives each client her full attention and walks through every food choice on the Foodmobile, making sure each client understands what the food is and how it can be eaten. Additionally, she looks for ways to make the shopping process easier for clients. For example, she came up with the idea to print a picture of what the food is so unlabeled cans or unfamiliar foods seem more approachable. Judy-Ann is client focused in all of her work. She engages with each participant, inquiring about their family, life and making them feel welcome however she can. She also asks each shopper what food they would like to be available on the Foodmobile so we can serve them better. Our staff members say that Judy-Ann has a fantastically positive attitude and that time flies by when you are working with her.
Marilyn Taylor – Above and Beyond Volunteer Award Winner for the Keystone Youth Services Team
Our final award for today is presented to Marilyn Taylor from the Keystone youth volunteer team. Marilyn volunteers in the Community Kids Program twice a week. Each shift, Marilyn spends two hours working on reading skills with our youngest Community Kids participants. Marilyn works with 4-5 students and patiently listens as they read to her. She jumps in to help them sound out challenging words they cannot pronounce and makes sure they understand the content they are reading. Marilyn goes above and beyond by keeping track of the words students didn’t know and quizzing them on these specific words on her next visit. Additionally, Marilyn plays word games with the students and finds creative ways to make learning fun. She always challenges the students to do their best and they all look forward to seeing her every week.
Thank you to our event sponsors –
Thank you to the generous sponsors who made our Volunteer Appreciation Day possible: Anchor Bank, St. Paul Midway Lions, Skinners Pup and Eatery and TopLine Federal Credit Union. Also thank you to BankCherokee and Mississippi Market who offered in-kind contributions to our event.