Volunteers are the heart of Herndon

April 15-21 is National Volunteer Week and the Town of Herndon celebrates and recognizes its many volunteers at our annual Volunteer Appreciation Night. This year, it will be held on Sunday 4/15/12 at 7 pm at the Herndon Community Center.

But few, if any, folks volunteer for the cookies & punch, the certificate and the small gift that is received at the event.  No, we volunteer because volunteering is part our Town's culture and how we sustain many of the community-building items that make Herndon so special - from the special events & activities, youth sports leagues, citizens police support team, Runnymede park and W&OD trail clean-ups to the Herndon Festival, Friday Night Live and the Homecoming Parade, volunteers make all of this possible.  Volunteers from across the Town's many civic groups, non profits, youth and the Town staff as well, allow us to create much bigger events, a wider range of services and save taxpayer money while enhancing everyone's quality of life.

I have been an avid volunteer since moving to Herndon 14 years ago and have spent hundreds of hours in service to the Town across many civic and non profit organizations - from running the Childrens' Hands On Art Area at the Herndon Festival for the last decade, to chairing the Board of Directors at the Council for the Arts of Herndon, to checking IDs at Friday Night Live.  And I have enjoyed all of it! 

I am proud to have been recognized as one of the Town of Herndon's 2006 Distinguished Service Volunteers, an award given to "nominees who have provided extensive community-wide support through volunteer efforts extending over several years or have volunteered for special projects involving considerable leadership, time and effort producing exceptional results.  Volunteer efforts should be in several different organizations with a minimum of two years of service.  Previous Distinguished Service Award winners are reconsidered after a ten-year period."  I invite you to see the list of prior winners online on the Town's website - these are the people who truly have demonstrated their passion for and commitment to our Town and community and my hat is off to each and every one of them!

Please consider volunteering for one of the many worthy civic groups, non profits or for the Town itself at upcoming events (hint, hint - we always need volunteers for the Herndon Festival!) - the time is well spent, you will have fun, and it's great to be able to see and share a wonderful Herndon experience.  If you need ideas or leads for places to volunteer, I am happy to get you going!