The Town of New Scotland, along with New Scotland Kiwanis, will be holding its annual Volunteer Day on Saturday, May 1. The event largely benefits seniors, people with disabilities and people of low income who need help with yard raking, cleaning, minor household cleaning, maintenance, and other minor tasks.
It’s neighbor helping neighbor. That’s really what it is all about, said Lance Moore, an organizer of the event.
Moore said he has been involved with the effort since it started almost 10 years ago under the name `Christmas in April.`
The date of the event was pushed back to May a few years ago, resulting in the name change.
Some of the activities volunteers will perform include raking, planting flowers, cleaning out flower beds, washing windows, painting, house cleaning and repairs, and installing air conditioners.
Moore said that over the years he has used the event as a teaching tool for his children.
`It’s a great learning experience when you’re teaching a child about values,` he said. `The important thing is teaching them to give back to the community and to people.`
Volunteer Day has become a tradition in the town; however, the tradition almost came to an end just weeks before last year’s event when the town announced it would no longer sponsor the event. The New Scotland Kiwanis eventually stepped in to ensure Volunteer Day would remain a New Scotland tradition.
`They stepped in with less than four weeks to go,` he said. `They really stepped up to the plate. We are so grateful.`
Janna Shillinglaw, president-elect of New Scotland Kiwanis, said Kiwanis recognized the importance of the event for the community.
`It really helps bring the community together for a common cause,` she said.
She said last year there were about 75 volunteers helping out.
`One of the reasons we had such a large turnout last year is we incorporated the Vly Creek clean-up,` she said.
According to Shillinglaw, the removal of garbage, leaves and branches from Vly Creek helps the town with its storm water management efforts.
`We got half of it done last year and we hope to get the other half done this year,` said Moore.
Susan Kidder, the town’s senior outreach liaison, said Volunteer Day has been `a wonderful, wonderful help` to seniors in the community.
Kidder said that volunteers are able to perform tasks that wheelchair- or walker-bound seniors find difficult.
`It lightens their life. Plus, there’s the person-to-person commication,` Kidder said.
She said the event has the added benefit of allowing the seniors to socialize with other members of the community ` an activity that is rare among the homebound.
At the Tuesday, April 13, meeting, the Town Board authorized the volunteers to use Town Hall to hold a barbecue from noon to 1 p.m. Shillinglaw said all volunteers participating in the event are welcome to attend the barbecue. Anyone who would like to participate or knows someone in need of the help of volunteers can call Shillinglaw at 369-0093 or Lance Moore at 765-5581. Volunteers can also sign up for the event by sending an e-mail to [email protected].
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