Volunteers appreciated at luncheon

It was time to recognize those who give their time to volunteering.

To those who may dedicate a lot of time volunteering and for those who volunteer when they can. It didn’t matter how much time each one spent. What mattered was that they cared enough to take the time to volunteer.

On Thursday, employees of the Golden Hour Senior Center took time to host a volunteer appreciation lunch for their 90-plus volunteers.

Irish Kreis, GHSC activities and marketing coordinator, thanked everyone for their time and dedication to the center.

She then asked those in attendance to take a look at the centerpieces on tables, which were puzzle pieces and a heart made out of puzzle pieces. Everyone did. Kreis said every volunteer is like a puzzle piece because every puzzle piece is needed to make a whole picture.

To paint that picture, Kreis said since last year, about 93 volunteers helped serve 871 GHSC patrons, but that’s not all who helped the center.

Kreis said volunteers from Expedition Academy, the National Honor Society, Trona Valley Federal Credit Union, the city of Green River, Roosevelt Learning Center, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Best Home Health Care and Western Wyoming Community College all played a role in the successful year the center had.

Due to all of the volunteer work, more than 7,000 activities took place at the center.

“I feel that’s a very large number of things to do,” Kreis said. “It is essential that we have those volunteers.”

She said not only does the center rely on volunteers for special events, but for day-to-day activities.

“They wouldn’t happen every day, every week, every month, is it weren’t for volunteers,” she said.

From those who teach classes, to those who serve on the GHSC board, every person plays a part, she said.

“Every, single person who volunteers their time is an essential piece for us,” Kreis said.

Kreis also wanted to thank those who deliver the home-delivered meals to homebound residents. Last year, 34,544 meals were served. Of those meals served, 16,617 were served in the dining room, while 17,927 were served to homebound residents.

“These 17,927 meals were delivered by just 30 volunteers over the year,” Kreis said. “The average home-delivered meal volunteer delivered 597 meals last year.” 

She then read comments she had received from the homebound meal recipients. After a few of their comments, it was clear how much of an impact those volunteers make.

“We know how much those meals mean to our home-delivered meal patrons,” she said.

It’s not just about delivering the meal, but making contact with that person, she said.

Sometimes, the only person the homebound patron speaks with is the volunteer who delivers the meal.

At the end of Kreis’ speech, she told the volunteers they could pick up a T-shirt. It was a small gesture to show the seniors how their volunteer work was appreciated.