There’s no money in it, no paid vacation, no insurance coverage, not even a free coffee mug. But volunteers continue to report for duty, happy to collect a hefty amount of emotional satisfaction as their only reward for a job well done.
Well, not their only reward. Several of the northwest suburbs’ most committed volunteers were recognized last month at a volunteer dinner and awards ceremony sponsored by the Volunteer Center of Northwest Suburban Chicago and J.C. Penney Co. Inc.
In the lavish setting of the Bristol Club in Mt. Prospect, six individuals and one social service agency were presented with Golden Rule awards. The awards are part of the J.C. Penney national volunteer award program. The seven winners, selected by a committee from a field of 17 finalists, each received a $1,000 contribution to their respective organizations and a crystal sculpture. Each of the other finalists received $250 for their organizations; all 17 received a plaque and a certificate.
“The contributions they make to the organizations they serve, they deserve the pat on the back,” Lyn Neuhengen, the volunteer center’s coordinator, said as she welcomed some of the 300 guests to the evening’s festivities.
The volunteer center, a 27-year-old non-profit organization based in Arlington Heights, recruits and refers volunteers to more than 100 social service agencies, school districts and community groups in the northwest suburbs. The center has collaborated with Penney’s for the last seven years to identify and honor local volunteers. Local winners are eligible to enter J.C. Penney’s National Golden Rule Award program.
Neuhengen of Arlington Heights said winners are chosen based on their “impact to the community, their initiative, if they’ve helped develop a program to address the needs.”
One of those winners is Betty Barnes. Four years ago, Barnes moved to Wheeling’s Addolorata Villa Adult Health Care Campus, where she lives in an apartment designed for the facility’s more independent residents. Although Barnes is able to care for herself, she isn’t able to read because she is legally blind. She received a Golden Rule award in honor of the way she rose to this challenge.
“I organized groups of sighted residents to read to the visually impaired,” she said. “I myself felt that something like this I would enjoy.”
Barnes said she recruits readers and schedules readings. She said about 10 listeners gather each week to hear audio versions of newspaper and magazine stories and books.
Then there’s the story of Victoria Heindl of Schaumburg. For the last 18 months, Heindl has provided advocacy and legal and medical counseling for rape victims as a volunteer with the Arlington Heights-based Northwest Action Against Rape.
“I saw an ad in the paper saying, `We need help.’ I had just left my full-time employment to stay home with my kids,” said the mother of four, who is a former marketing professional. “I feel like I have to have a purpose besides changing diapers, at this point.”
Heindl meets clients at hospitals and police stations to provide immediate help. “You have to be there for them because if you’re not there, no one is going to be there for them,” she said.
She said she reacted to the news of the award with some embarrassment. “It was humbling,” she said, explaining that she felt perhaps other contenders were more deserving. But she does appreciate it, she said. “It’s wonderful. You don’t expect it.”
Ray Friend, a retired flight engineer from Mt. Prospect, was also an award winner. “I teach reading,” he said. For the last 18 years, Friend has spent several hours every week teaching literacy to developmentally and physically disabled adults at the Countryside Association in Palatine.
“I got started doing it because it was part of the psychology course I was taking,” he said, explaining that his Harper College professor suggested that students take on such challenges to enrich their education. “I just kind of got hooked on it.”
“And he has trained other volunteers to teach,” said Al Viehman, Countryside’s director.
Kevin Cross, community service facilitator for Carpentersville School District 300, and Jessica Schoeneberger, a senior at Dundee-Crown High School, accepted the award for Club FRIEND (Friendly Relationships in Each New Day). The program pairs high school-aged mentors with elementary students who need guidance. Some of the younger students are latch-key children with limited adult interaction in the hours after school and some are economically disadvantaged, said Cross, a West Dundee resident.
“It’s a preventative program. . . . When people feel connected, they say no to drugs and alcohol,” he said.
Schoeneberger of Carpentersville said she has been a member of Club FRIEND for four years, meeting after school with her elementary school charges three times a week, each time for 1 1/2 hours, at Meadowdale Elementary School in Carpentersville. She said she stays involved because she likes “working with the kids, playing games, drawing, using the arts center.”
“To see her grow over the four years has been really exciting for me,” said Cross, who also teaches 1st and 2nd grades.
Spanish teacher Christine Starzynski received one of the seven Golden Rule awards for her efforts to establish a student service group called Peers and Leaders at Hoffman Estates High School. The group tutors elementary students and helps senior citizens with chores such as yard work. Starzynski, a Palatine resident, started the group 11 years ago.
“I guess people know what I do, but this is the first time it’s come to actually being recognized,” she said. She said she hopes her volunteer efforts set a good example for her students. “Helping people is something you do, not something someone else does,” she said.
Robyn Helkowski of Buffalo Grove was honored for her work as a nursing home ombudsman, a volunteer position she holds through the Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. A senior at Buffalo Grove High School, she has been involved with the program for a year.
“I just go to different nursing homes and talk to (the residents). I see if there are any problems I can help with,” she said. For example, she said, she may intervene if a resident is having a problem with nursing home staff. Or she may help a resident request a special diet.
“I’ve always wanted to help people. (This experience) reinforced it a little bit more,” she said, adding that she plans to attend nursing school next fall.
How does she feel about being singled out for her efforts?
“It’s a great honor,” Helkowski said. “It’s nice to get recognized for anything.”
Julie Koerner of Arlington Heights has been doing volunteer work for more than six years for the Community Economic Development Association (CEDA) Northwest, an agency that helps the homeless and economically disadvantaged. The Chicago-based organization has its northwest suburban operation in Arlington Heights.
Koerner has worked on a variety of projects, including programs that provide transitional housing and education for adults and Christmas presents for indigent children.
She was drawn to helping the homeless when she spotted an advertisement for a CEDA meeting. “The thought of people living under bridges and in doorways is so appalling,” Koerner said.
Koerner missed the recognition dinner but later said she is “very appreciative” of her Golden Rule award.
“I think it’s very nice,” she said. But, she said, volunteering has intrinsic rewards. “It’s doing it (that’s) so much fun. If people only realized how much fun (volunteering) is. It’s such a positive experience.”
The other 10 finalists were the Barrington Junior Women’s Club; Roger Hogreve of Prospect Heights, the Resource Center for the Elderly in Arlington Heights; Jean Jordan of Addison, Marklund Home Inc. in Bloomingdale; Dan Kaibel of Palatine, the Bridge Youth and Family Services in Palatine; Mary Memhardt of Schaumburg, American Association of University Women; Hazel Peters of Wheeling, Community Companion Volunteers in Arlington Heights; Marian Baker Quigley of Rolling Meadows, Northwest Community Continuing Care Center in Arlington Heights; Valspar Corp. of Wheeling; Caroline Walsworth of Arlington Heights, Voice of the Retarded in Rolling Meadows; and Jeani Cunningham of Arlington Heights, Frontier Days Festival Inc. of Arlington Heights.
