They are tutors, artists and advocates. They are dog walkers, computer teachers and farmers.
“We have many different cultures and experiences and languages and histories represented in our volunteers,” Gary Marschke, director of the Office of Citizen Involvement, said Thursday as the board of commissioners proclaimed April 10 through 17 as Volunteer Week in Multnomah County. “All of them have one thing in common: their willingness to give of the most valuable of commodities - their time and talent.”
Together, volunteers across Multnomah County departments donated an estimated 165,610 hours of their time last year.
In Animal Services, volunteers cared for feral cats, trained unruly dogs,fostered ferrets and quarantined contagious kittens. In libraries across the county, volunteers shelved books, coached students, brought books to seniors and even helped victims of domestic violence file restraining orders.
John Larsen tutored inmates at the Inverness Jail in reading and math. Noe Alonso sits as chair of the Multnomah Youth Commission. Vera Papernaya is a foster grandparent at Charles F. Tigard Elementary.
These were among dozens of volunteers honored this week during an award ceremony. Read more about them here: