Here are some of the community events we’ve attended and events we’ve hosted:
March 2021
Coming of Age/RSVP Drive thru Recognition Events
January 2021
MLK Day of Service Project
August 2020
Coming of Age/RSVP Virtual Recognition Event Award Winners
July 2019
2019 Spirit of Service Awards Luncheon
25 Years of Service
Martha Loer (Not pictured: Mary Bouldin)
15 Years of Service
(L to R) Eine Toivonen, Bernie O’Neill, Trudy O’Neill, Joan Cox, Bertha Sellers-Price and Fran Lugo. (Not pictured) Margaret Slaton
1000 Hours of Service
(L to R) Bill Miller, Suzanne Faught, Hal Ferguson, Nola Marie Dilworth, Don Saegert, Penny Goering, Gay Cocker and Pamela Spann. (Not pictured) Andy Anthony, Alan Huddelson, Patricia Lovett and Michael Wadino.
2000 Hours of Service
(L to R) Nancy Walker, Brandon Goering, Margarine Beaman, Bertha Sellers- Price and Althea Conrado. (Not pictured) Delwin Goss and Shawn Hohnstreiter.
Spirit of Service Award Winner –Estrelita Doolin
Estrellita has been a dedicated volunteer with Foundation Communities since 2015, serving first with their adult English as a Second Language program and then becoming an advocate for the organization.
Since becoming a volunteer Teaching Assistant with their adult ESL classes four years ago, Estrellita has served over 340 hours of service with this program alone, including 72 hours in 2018. She has touched the lives of hundreds of students. Learning basic English is essential to the success of the Foundation Communities residents. Without this skill, many find it hard to get a job, pay their bills, or even decipher the bus schedule.
The ESL teachers strongly rely on volunteers to assist them during class and help with one-on-one tutoring for adults who need extra support with their language skills. Estrellita treats all students with great respect, insisting on learning names any time a new student comes into the classroom. She is admired for her command of a classroom, her self-sufficiency, and the joyful energy she brings to every interaction.
As an ESL volunteer, Estrellita has directly affected the lives of students, helping them build not just self-sufficiency, but also a community. As a community advocate, Estrellita has worked to engage others in supporting the mission of Foundation Communities as volunteers and donors. Foundation Communities says they are fortunate to have as caring and committed a volunteer as Estrellita.
Spirit of Service Award Winner – Nola Marie Dilworth
There are three things you should know about Nola. One, you will be struck by her grace and humility. Two, she lives to serve her community. Three, you will wonder in awe at how she’s able to do so much with her time.
Nola once said “Volunteering is a blessing. I volunteer because you never know when you’ll need a little kindness in return.” Nola lives by these words. She volunteers for multiple groups serving diverse members of our community, always looking to make a difference.
She assists with Family Eldercare’s Money Management department, ensuring their records are in tip top shape as an administrative volunteer. She also volunteers at their front desk, greeting clients who are there to see their case managers.
Nola has a gift for making everyone feel at ease with her gentle voice and helpful nature. The staff at Family Eldercare say that to have a volunteer who understands the importance of treating everyone with kindness and dignity is the biggest gift she can give Family Eldercare as they strive to serve some of the most vulnerable members of our community.
February 2019
“We Love Our Volunteers” Breakfast Recognition
Driven to Achieve Award – BILL MILLER
Bill volunteers with Drive a Senior West. Accepting the award on his behalf is Stephanie Lane, the Regional Director of Drive a Senior West.
Bill volunteers has been a Coming of Age & RSVP member for almost 11 years and logged 7,500 hours during that time with Drive a Senior West. Bill averages 535 miles driven, 63 hours volunteered and 25 clients served per month.
Driven to Achieve Award – DON SAEGERT
Don volunteers with Drive NC – has been with Coming of Age for over 6 years and reported more than 7,000 hours served during that time. Don’s averages the following each month:
1300 miles driven, 100 hours volunteered and 30 clients served.
Outstanding Volunteer Leadership Award –
HAL FERGUSON
Hal volunteers with South Austin Hospital (SAH). He has been with Coming of Age / RSVP for over 12 years and logged over 17,000 hours of service during that time. Hal maintains the SAH gift shop and helps coordinate volunteers there.
He’s an active Coming of Age volunteer recruiter who has brought at least 30 new volunteers into our program. He reports volunteer activity for all of the Coming of Age SAH volunteers and signs off on all volunteer mileage requests. He’s also very quick in responding to inquiries or questions from our office.
Lifetime Commitment to RSVP Award –
JOHN CONRADO
John Conrado has a long history with RSVP, serving with us for nearly 27 years. John’s mother had been a very active RSVP volunteer and showed John the importance of the program and the impact that senior volunteers can make in their community.
John began with DaS South Austin when it was in its infancy. It was a small organization working to help seniors remain in their homes with a little extra help from volunteers, evolving into the South Austin Caregivers.
Over the years, John has served in every volunteer job DaS South Austin had to offer. He also served on the Drive a Senior Network representing the South Austin program. Under John’s leadership as DaS South Austin Board President, he was always involved, fair, sharing ideas and working to carry out responsibilities that were in the best interest of the program.
Upon turning 90 this past year, John decided to retire from his volunteer activity to care for his family. We appreciate the many years he has volunteered with our program, the Drive a Senior program and his commitment to service.
Outstanding Volunteer Leadership Award -NANCY WALKER
Nancy is the volunteer Executive Director for Funeral Consumer’s Alliance of Central Texas (FCACTX). She has been with the Coming of Age program for almost 9 years and has logged over 13,700 hours of service. Nancy served as the FCACTX Board President for 4 years and as VP for 1 year. She has been the volunteer ED for FCACTX since 2015.
She coordinates and facilitates End of Life Options classes, conducts in-service training for hospices and other healthcare providers, produces the FCACTX quarterly newsletter and annual Funeral Home Price Survey, maintains membership records, oversees office operations and volunteers, serves on various community councils and so much more. Nancy has been recognized consistently for contributing over 2,000 hours of service each year, averaging about 185 volunteer hours each month.
December 2018
Coming of Age/RSVP Board & Advisory Council Members making phone calls to volunteers to say Thank You and Happy Holidays.
November 2018
Coming of Age staff attended the ATX Aging and Innovation Summit at Sonesta Bee Cave Austin Hotel.
September 2018
Coming of Age staff attended a Mental Health First Aid Training.
Staff attended the HIV and Aging Conference.
Coming of Age was passing out information at the ATX 50+ Job Fair.
Coming of Age attended the Berkeley United Methodist Church Annual Community Health Fair.
March 2018
Coming of Age staff visited the new Community Center in Del Valle.
