Good Samaritan Society Celebrates National Volunteer Week

The Good Samaritan Society in Red Oak and Villisca are joining other organizations across the country in celebrating National Volunteer Week, April 19-25.

National Volunteer Week is set aside each year to recognize volunteers for their contributions and thank them for the myriad ways they improve our communities. This week is a time to reflect upon the power that volunteers have to inspire by example, since volunteers both encourage those they help and motivate others to serve.

The Good Samaritan Society – Red Oak, plans to host a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner to honor its volunteers on April 21 at 5 p.m., and the center in Villisca will be recognizing its volunteers on April 27 at 6:30 p.m.

During 2008, volunteers at Good Samaritan Society – Red Oak recorded over 3,000 hours of volunteer work through varied activities such as reading to residents, playing bingo, manning the resident shopping cart, participating in crafts, providing entertainment, and more.

In Villisca, volunteers shared over 5,000 hours of service time, many of which were hours accumulated by approximately 25 school children who volunteer at the center weekly through Villisca’s Before and After School Program, and two dedicated teams of hairdressers who come in to wash, set and fix residents’ hair.

“We recognize our volunteers throughout the year, but National Volunteer Week is a special time to celebrate their gifts and talents,” says Administrator Guy Matson. “Volunteers play a key role in the Christian mission and ministry of Good Samaritan Society, and both of our centers in Montgomery county are blessed by the love and dedication they extend to our residents.”

The official sponsor of National Volunteer Week is the Points of Lights and Hands On Network. The week began in 1974 when President Richard Nixon signed an executive order establishing an annual celebration of volunteering.