June 2009 Archives

Community volunteers John and Kathleen Dennison of Santa Rosa compare themselves to worker bees; ants even. They claim they just like to do the grunt work, the crummy stuff that needs to get done. They don't require any recognition or rewards.

Too bad the non-profits for which they volunteer love nothing better than to hand them Lucite block awards, silver bowls and yes, even a golden can opener.

"John and Kathleen are the kind of volunteers that agencies dream of," said Linda Schram-Williams, food bank manager for Food for Thought, the AIDS food bank in Forestville. "They have this amazing generosity of heart and spirit."

Sisters Heather Bond and Cindy Todeschini share a passion for coaching Special Olympics athletes. The two have been volunteering for Sonoma County Special Olympics for 15 years.

"This is our constant. Our family, our friends, our husbands, they know we love this," said Bond, 38, of Santa Rosa.

The sisters relish the challenges of training children and adults with special needs. They can't see themselves ever quitting.

"You see what the athletes have to overcome every day . . . and you can't complain about anything in your own life," said Todeschini, 40, also of Santa Rosa. "Plus, we have such good times together."

Dominic Maccario, 82, is the friendly voice at River to Coast Children's Services, the Guerneville clearinghouse that matches families with the child care and recreation programs they need.

His is often the first face clients see. For the past five years, he's helped provide crucial assistance to more than 300 low-income families in west county and along the Sonoma and Mendocino coast.

For Maccario, helping families with young children has become a full-time passion.

"I'm needed! That makes me feel good," he said. "And really, anything I can do to help people, as long as I'm able, that's what I'll do."

Shriners may be best known for their distinctively tassled red fez-style hats and propensity to drive tiny cars in civic parades, but Shriners in Sonoma County have their serious side too.
Each year they put on a free medical screening to identify children under 18 as candidates for treatment at the Shriners Hospital in Sacramento.
"We try to make it a fun day for the kids. We have some entertainment," said Terry Tennis, president of the Sonoma County Shrine Club. "We have balloons and clowns and stuffed toys."
Care at Shriners Hospitals is free to the child and the child's family. Shriner volunteers are also available to drive families back and forth to Sacramento, even if treatment spans weeks or months.