Reception Honors Newtown RSVP Volunteers

By Nancy K. Crevier

Maureen Farrell, the new Northern Fairfield County Retired Seniors Volunteer Program (RSVP) director, and Deborah Mikelic, outreach coordinator for RSVP, were on hand at the Newtown Senior Center Thursday, April 19, to recognize Newtown Senior Center volunteers. Of the 50 RSVP volunteers in Newtown, 28 of them are members of the center, said Senior Center Director Marilyn Place.

RSVP is a national program that matches the skills of retired senior citizens in volunteer situations. There are 13 chapters in Connecticut. The Northern Fairfield County Chapter, said Ms Farrell, provided more than 65,000 hours of community service at 76 different locations in 2006.

Local seniors have served assisting in fundraising, at Regional Hospice of Western Connecticut, providing transportation for medical visits, serving as docents at historical sites, helping at shelters, volunteering at schools, and in many other situations.

Lenore Niedzielski, a member of the Newtown Senior Center, is a volunteer who had nothing but good things to say about her experience in the RSVP Reading Partner Program. Volunteers in the Reading Partner Program are paired with elementary-aged children in a one-on-one situation to help develop reading and writing skills.

“It’s a marvelous experience,” said Ms Niedzielski, a former Head O’ Meadow Elementary School teacher. “I go in once a week and see two children. I try to spend at least a half hour with each of them. Working one-to-one is just a joy,” she said. The benefit is not only to the children, either, said Ms Niedzielski. “I thoroughly enjoy being there. It’s like getting my fingers back in the pie.”

Volunteers at Thursday’s reception were honored with bronze, silver, and gold Presidential Service Awards. The bronze awards designate a volunteer who has contributed from 100 to 249 hours in a year; silver awards go to those who put in between 250 and 349 hours; and gold awards go to volunteers who accumulate more than 400 volunteer hours in a year.

In 2006, said Ms Farrell, 232 Northern Fairfield County RSVP volunteers received the bronze award.

Bronze Presidential Service Awards were presented to the following Newtown Senior Center RSVP volunteers on Thursday: Joyce Hardy, Doris Travis, Ellen Parella, Florence De Palma, Irene Radun, Joseph E. Kelly, Lenore Niedzielski, Lois Pratt, Nancy Roznicki, Robert Sharpe, and Theresa B. Curry. Beatrice Piskura was awarded the silver Presidential Service Award, as was Carmella Maturi. Gold Awards were presented to Fran Vanwart and Barbara Wallenta.

At the annual RSVP luncheon to be held at the Amber Room in Danbury on May 23, Newtown volunteers Rose P. Lindmark, Dorothy Bartlett, and David Lowry will be among those to receive their 10- and 15-year service pins.

“It is people like you who have kept the program going,” Ms Farrell told the group, noting that senior volunteers make a huge impact in filling volunteer positions in the state.

Volunteers over the age of 55 are currently needed by the American Red Cross for computer data entry, telephone reception, and fundraising events; to train as tour guides at the Keeler Tavern Museum in Ridgefield; as homework mentors at Danbury High School; for medical, meal, and animal transport; for the Reading Partner Program; and to train as money managers or for the tele-care program. Contact Ms Farrell or Ms Mikelic at 792-8200.