Monroe Senior Center volunteers are recognized for their for their contributions to the community.
By: Leon Tovey
MONROE For some, the words "senior center volunteers" may evoke images of clean-cut youths in candy striper outfits caring for their frail elders in the hopes of padding out their college applications.
But at the Township Senior Center in the Municipal Complex, the volunteers are themselves seniors, and they offer assistance to people ranging from their late 80s to children of needy families in the community.
On the morning of Oct. 6, Shirley Horowitz of Clearbrook sat at the center’s reception desk, fielding calls, many of which were inquiries about flu vaccinations. Ms. Horowitz, a 10-year volunteer who staffs the desk every Wednesday, had the unenviable task of informing each caller that the center had given vaccinations the previous Saturday.
"No dear, we won’t be offering them again; it’s a once a year thing," she told one caller. "Well, where are you? Concordia? Well check with your nurse there, they might have some if your doctor doesn’t."
Ms. Horowitz, who said she volunteers to handle the reception desk because she likes talking to people, is one of the nearly 250 senior center volunteers without whose contributions the center could not function, according to Bonnie Leibowitz, spokeswoman for the center.
In recognition of that contribution, center officials held a luncheon and award ceremony for the volunteers Oct. 8 at the Holiday Inn on Route 32.
Ms. Leibowitz, who is one of the center’s eight full-time employees, said about 125 volunteers attended the luncheon, six of whom Polly Accamando, Art Keller, Alice Lasity, Dorothy Morrell, Herman Marcus and Flo Wawrzynski were given lifetime achievement awards in recognition of more than a decade of service.
Ms. Leibowitz also said gift certificates were given to volunteers who had given more than 200 hours of their time in the past year.
But even those who didn’t receive a gift certificate or an award said they feel well-compensated for their time.
"The income is the best thing about the job," volunteer Morris Glass joked. "It’s also nice that (center administrators) put on a luncheon for us once a year or so, for recognition."
Mr. Glass, a resident of Clearbrook who has been volunteering at the center since 1995, said he also enjoys the social aspect of the job. He said he has recently started to cut back, volunteering just once or twice a month, where he used to come in at least three times a month. But, he said he plans to keep doing it for as long as he can.
On Oct. 6, Mr. Glass helped to assemble the more than 150 bags of food comprising the center’s monthly delivery to needy people in the community. As he carefully packed loaves of bread, boxes of cereal and cans of vegetables into dozens of brown paper bags, he waxed by turns solemn and facetious about the volunteer work he was doing.
"We’ve reached the point in our lives where people do for us, so if we can give back, we should," he said of himself and his fellow volunteers. "Plus, there was a study by some university I forget which one and it found that people who volunteer live longer."
According to Rita Whitney, director of the Office on Aging (which runs the center), volunteers are selected from a list of approximately 9,600 residents who have registered to take part in activities at the center. Ms. Whitney said the center asks whether a person registering for an activity would like to volunteer, and if so, in what capacity.
"That’s not to say there’s any kind of age requirement, or cut-off, though," Ms. Whitney added. "Anyone who wants to volunteer should feel free to come into the office and do so."
In addition to providing clerical and logistical support for the center’s charity programs and social activities, volunteers help with fund-raising at the center. The center’s fund-raising arm, Friends of the Senior Center, is run entirely by volunteers, right up to its president, Bob Weiss.
Mr. Weiss, who was honored at the luncheon as one of the 200-plus hours volunteers, said the group raises its funds through activities, trips and a $3 membership fee it charges its nearly 1,700 members annually. The money goes back into the center to pay for activities and charity programs.
Sitting in his office one morning last week, planning out funding activities for 2005, Mr. Weiss said he works about 25 to 30 hours a week, but it’s time well spent because the thing he likes most is helping people.
And the thing he likes least?
"Puttin’ up with these old broads," he said, shooting a mischievous sidelong glance at FRC Vice President Matie Savastano, who glared at him with mock severity for a moment before breaking into a laugh.
"But you keep coming back for more," she reminded him.
Later that day, safely out of earshot of Mr. Weiss, Ms. Savastano said the FRC president was a great example of the center’s volunteers: in the office every day, always on time and always willing to stay later than he had originally intended.
"That’s the thing about our volunteers," she said. "When they say they’re going to be here and do something, they do."