Top volunteers celebrated

Published 12:01 am Saturday, July 22, 2017

St. John the Baptist Parish’s Velda Michel was recently recognized with a lifetime award for giving 11,000 hours in donated time to community projects.

Michel, along with St. John volunteers Sylvester Dumas, Geraldline Rogers, Oscar Jacob, Clifford Hebert, Roberta Bailey, Ron Balfour and Christine Fulger, were some of the River Regions residents recognized recently by local parish governments for their service.

Terry Labat and Beverly Pettigrew were honored for top hours.

Each is a member of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) from the River Parishes.

St. John Parish President Natalie Robottom and  St. Charles Parish President Larry Cochran commemorated their hard work and service during the 40th annual event at the Edward A. Dufresne Community Center.

Every year, officials from RSVP sponsor a recognition meal to acknowledge volunteer efforts and thank volunteers for their commitment and service. Awards were presented to volunteers with five to 25 years of service.

St. John Parish President Natalie Robottom, right, helped recognize Velda Michel among many others during the recent Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) from the River Parishes.

Overall, St. John Parish provided a total of 32,861 volunteer hours valued at $793.264.54 for 2017.

RSVP recorded 659 volunteers providing 71,381.93 hours of service valued at $1,723,159.79.

“Congratulations to all of the volunteers for their efforts and giving back to the community,” Robottom said. “St. John volunteers increased their service by more than 50 hours from last year, which helps to make St. John a better place.”

In addition to the presentation of awards, volunteers also reveled in music, dancing, socializing and entertainment by the “Oldies but Goodies Dance & Social Club.”

River Parishes RSVP links adults from St. James, St. Charles and St. John Parishes ages 55 and over to meaningful volunteerism and to provide opportunities to pursue their interests and use their skills to help meet community needs.

Volunteers serve in a diverse range of nonprofit organizations, public agencies and faith-based groups.

Each volunteer contributes an average of four hours per week to remain an active RSVP member.

For more information on how to get involved with the RSVP program, call 985-783-8907.