Rose Cologne volunteers of the year: Meet the people (and 1 dog) making a difference in Centre County

Editor’s note: Each year, Centre County agencies honor their volunteers of the year during the Rose Cologne Volunteer Dinner. The 48th annual dinner, hosted by the Centre County Council for Human Services and named in honor of the first recipient of the Volunteer of the Year Award, was canceled due to the coronavirus. The award recognizes those in the community who work to further the mission of CCCHS’ member agencies.

The Centre County Council for Human Services includes agencies and individuals who are providing incredibly valuable resources and services to the Centre County community. Many of these organizations rely on the help of volunteers.

Volunteers are the heart and soul of our organizations. They fulfill so many roles and functions within our agencies, from answering the phone, to offering a welcoming smile, to delivering meals to the sick and so much more. Volunteers make our community a better place to live.

Volunteering is vital to the success of our agencies. Our volunteers are willing to contribute their time, talents, hearts and hands to improving the communities in which we live. Often, volunteers are on the cutting edge of change because they see things that should be done and do it before anyone else is aware a need exists.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of the volunteers listed below for the valuable work they do to make our community a better place!

- Heather Moran, CCCHS president

Marge and Max Stoner

Agency: The Village at Penn State

Length of service: 4.5 years

Roles: The Village at Penn State honors Marge and Max Stoner as their Rose Cologne Volunteers of 2020. They are extraordinary workers whether they are driving a resident to an appointment or helping them with tasks they can no longer do for themselves. Marge works in the gift shop, at the clothes line, in the radio shows, and getting cast members into makeup for our calendars. Meanwhile, Max is outside, summer and winter, moving snow, pruning, planting, watering, cleaning, making our gardens beautiful.

Reason for volunteering: “We find The Village at Penn State the perfect place to live in our twilight years. Therefore, we volunteer wherever we can at The Village because there are so many aspects of life here that we enjoy. We are inspired by residents, both past and present, to continue the work they did and are presently doing.”

Dennis D. Fetzer

Agency: Center for Alternatives in Community Justice

Length of service: Five years

Roles: Currently serves as the treasurer for CACJ. Additionally, as an active board member he assists with development, fundraising and human resources.

Reason for volunteering: “Life is not about what you own or what you have accomplished. It’s about helping others and improving the quality of their lives. It is about ‘giving back your time’ to help improve our community. If you help just one person it changes the world forever.”

Cathy Vandenberg

Agency: Park Forest Preschool

Length of service: 17 years

Roles: A volunteer in the 4-year-old room once a week (14 years); music teacher for the 3-year-olds and the 4-year-olds (three years); member of the board of trustees (about 17 years)

Reason for volunteering: “Being with the children and interacting with them is a most rewarding experience for me. The children blossom and grow throughout the year and I get to be a part of this positive environment for them with caring people all around. I love it.”

Mary Watson

Agency: Constitution Day Centre Hall Inc.

Length of service: Four years

Roles: Board member, vice president, volunteer, supporter

Reason for volunteering: “Constitution Day has made me appreciative of my German and Scots-Irish ancestors who had the courage to come here and build successful lives against great odds. With my family and friends, I have shared information on the rights and privileges we gain through the Constitution, building knowledge and gratitude.”

Medora Ebersole

Agency: Jana Marie Foundation

Length of service: Four years

Roles: Medora volunteers with our SHINE Girls Club, where she uses art, music and other forms of creative expression to build connections and self-confidence in young women. In addition, Medora sits on our education and Mokita Committees.

Reason for volunteering: “The Jana Marie Foundation leverages the transformative power of the arts to give adolescents voice and agency and tools to families in these times of extraordinary pressures and challenges. Volunteering allows me to share my life experience with and passionate commitment to the arts to build and foster more inclusive communities.”

Rachel Bomysoad

Agency: Centre Helps

Length of service: 1.5 years

Roles: Volunteer hotline counselor — provides emotional support, crisis intervention, and information and resource referral on our 24/7 hotline to community members in need.

Reason for volunteering: “I’m drawn to Centre Helps’ mission of empathy, education and empowerment. I also feel needed, by people who may be struggling mentally, financially and/or legally, and want personal connection or a safety net of services. I felt that time was one of the most valuable things I could give.”

Ranjana Mathur

Agency: Mid-State Literacy Council

Length of service: Five years

Roles: Ranjana teaches an English conversation class twice a week and has also tutored individual students.

Reason for volunteering: “After 40 years of teaching in India, the desire to teach was still deep in my heart. As a volunteer English teacher at Mid-State, I develop a rapport with my students and make learning fun. Students, once hesitant, become fluent and confident. This gives me tremendous joy and satisfaction.”

Mary Shingler

Agency: Apprise (Office of Aging)

Length of service: 11 years

Roles: The Centre County Apprise program is proud to nominate Mary Shingler and Peaceful the service dog for the Rose Cologne award. Mary has been volunteering with Apprise since 2009. She has extensive knowledge of all Medicare topics, and even takes the complicated topic of Medicaid and handles those questions with ease. Mary spends the majority of the time volunteering on the statewide telecenter.

Reason for volunteering: “Six months into retirement, I began looking for way to use the skills I gained from 20-plus years of working. The last few years I worked Medicare Part D was rolled out. I helped others understand and enroll in it. Centre County RSVP referred me to volunteer positions in Apprise. ‘Sure, why not. I didn’t want my health care to bankrupt me,’ I thought. The Medicare training was challenging. It awakened parts of my dormant ‘working brain.’ The time I spend doing Apprise work opens my pathways to critical thinking. After each time I volunteer, I know I have helped others and myself. I feel more confident, awake and alive.”

Ken Manno

Agency: Central PA SCORE

Length of service: Seven years

Roles: Treasurer, vice chairman and chairman

Reason for volunteering: In 1980, Ken was invited to be a member of the inaugural class of the Leadership Erie (PA) program. This experience identified the important role volunteers play in addressing community needs and along with his professional background as a business generalist, fits well for serving as a certified business mentor in the SCORE program.

Steve Kreiser

Agency: Centre County Youth Service Bureau

Length of service: 20 years

Roles: Steve first became a supporter of YSB through his work at Restek when he got involved with the company’s charitable giving. As an avid outdoorsman, Steve became an integral member of YSB’s On the Fly PA Fly Fisher’s Tournament committee, which he currently co-chairs. Steve has also served on YSB’s board of directors, including serving in the role of vice chair.

Reason for volunteering: “I volunteer with the YSB because of the important services they provide to a vulnerable part of our community. They have dedicated staff who constantly respond to difficult challenges, and they have inspired me to join their mission. The YSB is an excellent steward of the funding it receives.”

Vicki Fong

Agency: State College Community Land Trust

Length of service: Six years

Roles: Board member, president, vice president, co-chair of Outreach & Development Committee

Reason for volunteering: “When you volunteer, you vote for the kind of community you want to live in. State College Community Land Trust supports forever homes by owning the land and selling the house at lower prices to qualified working individuals. This ensures affordable housing and diverse neighborhoods in borough of State College.”

All of the volunteers who have continued giving care during the COVID-19 pandemic

Agency: Centre Volunteers in Medicine

Length of service: Since 2003

Roles: Physicians, dentists and nurse practitioners

Centre Volunteers in Medicine has remained open to care for our low-income, uninsured patients during the current COVID-19 pandemic. We could not continue to do so without our volunteer health care providers (medical, dental, behavioral health). We are very thankful for the time they donate and their flexibility in embracing the addition of telemedicine at our clinic. They are truly our heroes. - CVIM staff

Barb Lippencott

Agency: Meals on Wheels

Length of service: Seven years

Roles: She has worked in the kitchen helping with meal prep, on the meal line and as a delivery driver or meal runner.

Reason for volunteering: “I started when a few of my friends, who volunteer for Meals on Wheels, invited me to check it out. I love talking and getting to know new people and Meals on Wheels has been a perfect place to do that.”

Michelle Knotts

Agency: Centre Safe

Length of service: Two years

Roles: Michelle has served as a dedicated volunteer with our Outreach & Education team, playing an important role in Camp Peaceworks — our yearly youth social justice summer camp. She has volunteered with Camp Peaceworks for the last two years, and continues to stay engaged and active in the planning process, as well as regular meetups throughout the year. She brings so much wisdom, knowledge, insight and joy to our work, the youth campers, and those of us at Centre Safe fortunate enough to get to collaborate with and learn from her.

Reason for volunteering: “Camp Peaceworks is a highlight of my summer that keeps me connected and rooted in hope for the entire year. I volunteer to work with youth in our community and Centre Safe in order to sow seeds of peace and justice and cultivate a better future for all of us.”

Sally Best

Agency: Bridge of Hope Centre County

Length of service: Six years

Roles: Board chair, program committee chair, neighboring volunteer, mentor

Reason for volunteering: “I can only imagine where I’d be today if Bridge of Hope had been available to me as a struggling, single mom. The services we offer — rental assistance, case management and loving support from volunteers who help fill in the gaps — are exactly what I needed most.”

Suzanne Kerlin and Sherry Crassweller

Agency: American Association of University Women, State College

Length of service: Together, Suzanne and Sherry have been with AAUW, State College for over 60 years: 33 for Suzanne and 30 for Sherry.

Roles: Suzanne and Sherry have held various roles with our organization from treasurer to president to Scholarship Committee to Handbook Committee. Together they have been Book Sale co-chairs and are currently Workshop co-chairs, 20 for Suzanne and 30 for Sherry. This recognition is for their tireless work at the book workshop. The volume of time that they both spend at the workshop is tremendous! Their long-term, committed leadership to the processes and procedures of keeping the Used Book Sale operating keeps our sale alive. They do it with quiet determination and are always “boots on the ground”!

Reason for volunteering: “Volunteering at the AAUW Used Book Sale gives us a great sense of accomplishment. When the monies earned are given back to the community in the form of scholarships and grants thus fulfilling AAUW’s mission. Just as important is the camaraderie and friendship among the volunteers sorting and pricing each week.”

John ‘JT’ Thompson

Agency: Centre Crest nursing home

Length of service: 17 years

Roles: John “JT” has been a steadfast volunteer playing his beautiful piano music to entertain the residents for 17 years. When he plays for the residents each Wednesday it is easy to see how much John and the residents enjoy one another. Residents gather around the piano as John fills the dining room with music and joy! John demonstrates his love for our residents and his community with every note he plays. He is a well-loved member of the Centre Crest family!

Reason for volunteering: “I started playing for the residents in 2003 after my mom died. I am overwhelmed, surprised and very happy to receive this honor. It means a lot to me. During this time of closures I REALLY miss playing for the residents and I can’t wait to be back!”

Andrew Maguire

Agency: Housing Transitions

Length of service: 13 years

Roles: Andrew served on the Housing Transitions board of directors for nine years and served as the board president his last two years. He has remained on the Facilities Committee, the Run for Shelter 5K Race Committee and contributed to various other fundraising efforts throughout his tenure and since he cycled off the Housing Transitions board in 2017. He has also been a longtime member of the Temporary Housing Foundation board, recently renamed The HOME Foundation, and has served as the board president since 2017. THF is a branch of Housing Transitions specializing in creating affordable housing opportunities.

Reason for volunteering: “The vision of THF is to realize a community where everyone has a secure and affordable place to live. Our community is enhanced when we recognize and support those around us in need. I proudly volunteer with THF because this is my way of staying committed to helping my neighbors.”