Following is a summer update from MY Neighbors:
We have grown steadily busier. As of mid-August, 56 Volunteers are providing services to 77 Members with an additional ten memberships in process. Despite the comings and goings of summer vacations our nine Intake Volunteers under the leadership of Karin Rolett and Penni Powell continue to do a great job.
We are, of course, always looking for Volunteers. The summer wine tasting event at Burnsville Wine was a big success with over sixty people in attendance and ten soon-to-be-oriented Volunteers signed up. Word of mouth continues to be our best advertising. If you know of anyone who might be interested in Volunteering please send them our way. Volunteers can choose the tasks they do at the time that is convenient for them. We are particularly interested in Volunteers from Burnsville, Jack’s Creek, Price’s Creek and the Cane Creek areas.
We filled 55 service requests in June and we are on track to fill over 60 in August. Our requests are two-thirds for transportation to medical appointments and shopping, mostly within Yancey Co. We also facilitate social visits and events, as well as doing simple home repairs and technical support for cell phones, computers, etc. While we don’t have data on this, my sense is that our Call Managers are filling 99% of service requests within 48 hours. We can never do enough to thank our Captain of the Call Managers Bill Schultz along with the rest of the Call Manager crew: Paul Lundquist, Steve Powell, Rachel Swinney, Dotty Morgan, Anne Maren-Hogan, Carol Sasek, Gay Rose and Nancy Watkins; along with our subs Charlie Hodshon, Diana Donovan and Stacy Oates. Bill also just oriented Jennie Boyd Bull, who is beginning next week.
Our Social Affairs folks, led by Florence Yaffe and Gay Rose have also been hard at work with a Cruise Social scheduled for August 22. You may have seen our new car magnets around the County, thanks to our Marketing Committee under the leadership of Charlie Hofheimer and Barrett Rose. They’re $15 a pop but the first box disappeared within a few days. If you’re interested in one let us know.
From the beginning, one of my hopes for MY Neighbors was that it would bring together people in our County who might never get to know one another otherwise—local folks and those who’ve moved in from outside; people on limited incomes and those who don’t need to worry about money; people of deep religious faiths and those of little faith; as well as people from across the political spectrum. I am pleased to report that this is happening, although I want us to become even more reflective of the diversity of our unique County.
Thank you for continuing on the MY Neighbors journey with us.
Chip Poston
Board Chair