Celebrating Volunteers at ACV

At ACV, volunteers are an incredibly valuable asset. ACV celebrated its volunteers recently at the Annual Volunteer Recognition in Rumph Dining Room.

In the middle of each table, there was a word that ACV employees use to describe the volunteers and their efforts, including valuable, involved, organized, willing, determined, energetic, kind, and more.

“The value of a volunteer hour in Florida is $23.33,” stated Eleanor Cantarious, ACV’s Volunteer Coordinator, “now that equates to more than $860,000 Advent Christian Village saved by utilizing the time and talents of volunteers.”

Eleanor continued to say that since there are some volunteers who do not report their hours, it is more likely ACV has saved closer to 1 million dollars with the efforts of the volunteers. With the money saved, ACV can use the money to promote the health and wellbeing of its members.

“If volunteers formed their own country, they would be the ninth largest country in the world,” Darleen Hinrichs, ACV’s Sr. Director of Donor Engagement said, “140 million people volunteer annually.”

Darleen compared the statistics from a global perspective, stating that in the United States approximately 38% of the population volunteers, while closer to 50% of ACV’s members volunteer in a wide variety of ways.

“What else makes ACV volunteers so important?” Darleen asked. “You are extensions of the Village staff. We’re all here to do our part in the mission of ACV: to express Christ’s love to the people we serve, to provide a meaningful life and to meet needs as we’re able. You willingly help  with tasks that staff members can’t accomplish alone, you enhance the community with your expertise and experience, you step up to eagerly learn new skills and you do big things and you do small things that add up to big things.”

The guest speaker, Greg Ungru, currently serves as the Deputy Secretary and Chief of Staff at the Florida Department of Elder Affairs. Greg spoke about the impact the benefits of volunteering, both physical and psychological.

“Volunteering puts people in social settings, thus increasing the opportunity for networking and interpersonal relationships,” Greg mentioned, “Volunteering improves the immune system.”

The significance of volunteerism and appreciation for the members of ACV were expressed through each speaker. ACV is blessed with the dedicated, selfless volunteers who change lives every day.

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