Editor's note: The following accounts were contributed by active community volunteers about the groups they donate their time and energy to and the many helpers that keep their groups going.

By Tim O'Connor

The genesis of the Chapel House Homeless Shelter stemmed from a 2007 survey by the Auburn Cayuga Homeless Task Force, which reported 55 people currently without shelter, and 43 people in danger of becoming homeless. The Rev. Dennis Shaw reached out to the Holy Family congregation asking that the school be used for a shelter. After months of planning, the shelter opened in December with 34 clients. Since then, our bed count in January was 45; 76 in February, and 104 in March.

There has been a true learning curve for all involved, as we are dealing with scheduling, cleaning, feeding and laundry issues. Coordinator Sandi Mettler has provided valuable guidance to the program with her previous experience as an emergency service director for the Oneida County Red Cross. Mettler has made it a goal of the shelter to provide clients a warm, dry, safe environment with food, clothing and other daily essentials. When clients come in for the evening, they are extremely grateful for a hot supper and a warm place to sleep without fear of being mugged.

Most of our clients are individuals down on their luck and in need of some community support to help them get back on their feet. We have several clients with jobs; however, they do not earn enough money to be self-supportive. The shelter also provides clients contacts at Options for Independence, Social Services, the Unity House and the GRACE House. Some of our clients that have gotten their lives back on track have even come back to volunteer at the shelter.

The shelter is open from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily and can house up to 19 male clients each night. We unfortunately cannot accept female or underage clients with our current facilities, but we are hoping to relocate to a building that can accommodate our needs in the near future. New facilities would allow us to stay open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To help achieve this goal, we have launched a program called Chapel House Forever, which is raising funds for expansion. Donations can be made payable to the Chapel House care of at the Holy Family Rectory, 85 North St. Auburn, NY 13021.

The shelter runs solely on donations and volunteers. Without this support, the shelter could not remain open. Volunteers such as Susan Buehler, Jerry Ferguson and Ken Kenya, to name a few have dedicated themselves to making this a successful operation.

Volunteering at the shelter has been both emotionally and spiritually rewarding for me. After spending a night at the shelter, I have a smile on my face and a warmth in my heart the following day. I encourage everyone to dedicate some time helping out someone in need whether it's at the shelter, food pantry or a soup kitchen.

Tim O'Conner is a volunteer with Chapel House Homeless Shelter

RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program)

By Mary Ann Kolo

Since RSVP was established in Auburn 35 years ago, literally thousands of people 55 years of age and over have given back to Auburn and Cayuga County by volunteering their time and talents to make this community a better place to live.

Last year RSVP had 543 active volunteers who contributed 101,182 hours of service to this community. If these volunteers were being paid the minimum wage, this would represent three quarters of a million dollars that our community saved in wages.

RSVP has 70 stations (too numerous to mention) throughout our community that volunteers assist at. These stations represent the entire make up of our community. Here are just a few of the stories of some of the “veteran#” RSVP volunteers.

• Eva Dehn, who recently passed away, was the co-founder of Hospice which has helped more than 2,100 patients since it began in 1988. Dehn, herself an RSVP volunteer, contributed to a variety of volunteer jobs for RSVP.

• Alice Norris has been a volunteer at the YMCA for 17 years giving countless hours to the Swim Therapy Program for stroke victims. She faithfully shows up on Tuesday and Thursdays to assist those folks.

• Nell Caffrey, for 26 years, has been going to Mercy Hospital and now Mercy Health & Rehabilitation Center. She ran the gift shop for several of those years until she became legally blind and she has also battled health problems. Even today she volunteers twice a week to serve as a greeter at the customer service desk.

• Betty Becker has volunteered for 13 years. Becker is also legally blind but still goes twice a week to Mercy to visit patients there and present them with lap robes. These have been knitted by RSVP volunteers. Becker also goes to Westminister Manor to help the patients enjoy the weekly ice cream or wine and cheese parties.

• Fred Jennings, for 30 years, has been helping people file their income taxes at the Boyle Center for the AARP. Jennings himself is battling his own health issues but is willing to give of his time and talents.

• Jane Balian has been entertaining folks at Auburn Nursing Home, Westminister Manor, Mercy and the Faatz-Crofut Home with her songs, stories etc. for 16 years.

• Tom and Mary Manual are a husband/wife volunteer team. Both have volunteered their talents for the past 10 years. Tom has read to the blind, and he works twice a week helping in the outpatient clinic at Auburn Memorial Hospital. Mary volunteers her time helping patients at the Finger Lakes Center for Living.

• For the past 15 years Lucy Feocco has worked at Meals on Wheels twice a week helping out with the food distribution.

• Livia Falcicchio is in her 80s and she can still stand on her head, believe it or not. Livia and her husband, Nick, help out with the Red Cross blood drives. In addition to her volunteer time, Livia and daughter, Linda, have donated more than 36 gallons of blood to the American Red Cross.

• Marie Hawkins has volunteered for the past 15 years. Despite health problems herself, she still volunteers and in the past has headed up the distribution of 10,000 newsletters for the Office for the Aging.

• Eleanor Krell is now a greeter at city hall. For the past 22 years, she has volunteered at Meals On Wheels, SCAT and the Senior Nutrition Program.

• Another husband/wife team is Dorothy and Harold Loechner, who have driven and served for Meals on Wheels for the past 16 years.

• Dorothy Kolp has volunteered for the past 15 years as a bingo worker and floor captain at the Boyle Center.

• Sister Mary Brendan has done just about every volunteer job RSVP has. With her youthful enthusiasm, she is now the Boyle Center's expert quilter.

• The Community Caring Center on Wall Street has been headed up by Stella Kindrew for 10 years, providing food and other items to eligible families in need.

• For the past 18 years, Mary Kelly has volunteered her time at the YMCA, Meals on Wheels and Mercy.

• Marjorie Jorgenson is 89 years young and she has volunteered for the past five years at the Community Service Center on Prospect Street handing out items to the needy.

The volunteer stories are endless. Each and every RSVP volunteer deserves to be mentioned. One common thread that runs through all the volunteer stories is that each one will tell you that they get far more satisfaction out of the program than what they donate in time. It gives them a “feel good#” feeling about what they do and what they are giving back to their community.

So if any of you “youngsters#” out there are 55 or older and want to feel good about what you do in life, then stop in to the RSVP office. Ormie King, Toni Deyneka and I will help you find a volunteer opportunity so you can have that same “feel good#” feeling of giving back to your community! “Volunteers are the key to a great community!#”

Mary Ann Kolo is the director of RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program)

Matthew House

By Donna Brazee

When people find out that I volunteer at Matthew House, their first question is: “How can you do that? It must be so sad.”

This seems like a reasonable response, but to me, Matthew House is not a sad place. It is a place filled with peace, home, encouragement, love, caring and comfort.

When Matthew House first opened, I started as a house care volunteer. I would usually work on Saturday afternoon, cleaning and cooking and helping out with whatever needed to be done. I was always very interested in the residents and wished that I could care for them. Sometimes I would help out with the residents, but I never thought I could do it by myself.

Then I met a very special resident named Jean. I loved to go in every week and visit with her. I wanted to help with her care, so the residence director encouraged me to take the resident care class. I did, and I began caring for residents with another person until I felt confident enough to do it on my own.

The rest is history. I started volunteering at night once a week and absolutely loved it. I have had the privilege of caring for many residents and their families. I look forward to my time at Matthew House. It makes you appreciate your life and your health in a whole new way. I am blessed to be a part of it.

My hope is that everyone who is reading this and is interested in Matthew House would just come and see what it is like.

Everyone who comes here is always pleasantly surprised. It is a home to whomever is here at the time, and their families. It is a place filled with warmth, love, and I believe, it is filled with angels.

If interested in volunteering, people may either fill out the volunteer application, found online at www.matthewhouse.org, or call 252-2052 to request an application be sent through the mail.

Donna Brazee is a resident care volunteer at Matthew House.

Pregnancy Care Center of Cayuga County

By Nancy Marland

In January of 2004, the Pregnancy Care Center of the Finger Lakes in Geneva opened a satellite center in Auburn. After operating for four years as a satellite center, we were incorporated as our own main center Dec. 17, and became the Pregnancy Care Center of Cayuga County.

We are a non-profit organization with a biblical foundation, staffed by volunteers who make up our board of directors and center peer counseling staff. Even the executive director is both a part-time paid employee and a part-time volunteer.

We are not a medical facility, but we do offer free laboratory quality pregnancy tests; peer counseling; educational information on STDs, abstinence until marriage, abortion procedures and their risks; post-abortion and post miscarriage counseling and prenatal care, and parenting skills. All of our services are offered at no cost to the client, with respect and confidentiality in a friendly, non-judgmental manner.

We are supported by individuals, businesses and churches who give of their time and money through our fundraising events held several times during the year and by donating clothing to our store.

Moms and dads-to-be, and parents of babies, attending our Earn While You Learn (EWL) peer counseling educational prenatal or parenting lessons, earn “mommy or daddy bucks coupons,” which they spend in our infant and maternity store. We have diapers, baby clothes from newborn to size 2T, diaper bags, bottles, food, formula, maternity clothes etc., and also offer, at no cost to our clients, magazines, Bibles and educational brochures on STDs, pregnancy and parenting.

This year we also offered Bible studies with Kathy Duckett and Tammy Humphrey, and scrap book classes on Thursday evenings with Tanya Mack. For the last two years, we have also had group meetings with Becky Johnson from Cornell Cooperative Extension teaching classes on nutrition and Kathy Duckett from CHAD teaching how to avoid substance abuse, while Tammy Humphrey has taught parenting skills. At Christmas time, we also have a party for our EWL parents and their children.

Our board member volunteers are Dave and Debi Dineen, Doug and Linda Eldred, Bud and Mary Phillips, and Floyd and Rosie Marsh. Our center's peer counselor volunteers are Pat Spillman, Kathy Main, Laurie Squires, Bonnie Evans, Karen Cheeley, Joan Seamans, Connie Carter, and until recently Joyce Gover. Just beginning are Angela Johnson, Patti Cheney and Dawn Sessler.

Without each volunteer, this non-profit organization could not exist. The board of directors keeps our center focused on our goal of offering options to those considering having an abortion. They help us to figure out what marketing plans are the most effective and least costly, help with fundraisers and give direction to the executive director, who oversees the daily operation of the center. The center volunteers greet clients, guide them in doing their own pregnancy tests, give peer counseling and read material or watch videos to held educate clients. One of our desires is to help parents learn responsibility while learning how better to take care of themselves and their children.

Several of our clients have become good friends with our volunteer staff, and will stop in between other social service appointments, just to chat, have lunch or share a burden or a joy with us. For some moms, our center volunteers have become a support group that they can count on when they are discouraged or going through something difficult. We are more than a social service agency, we are their friends, who can be counted on for sound advice given with kindness.

So many volunteers are needed to keep our center open. Most of them are not known by name, because they give of themselves unobtrusive with their monetary help and with their prayers. But whether our volunteers give in secret or give in time and energy at the center, their gifts of themselves to help meet the needs of others is precious and worthy of receiving our thanks.

Nancy Marland is the executive director of the Pregnancy Care

Center of Cayuga County located at 75 Genesee St., Auburn. She can be reached at 255-2778.

Cayuga County Habitat for Humanity

By Jennifer Banas

Cayuga County Habitat for Humanity has been in operation since 1991. We are a non-profit Christian housing ministry dedicated to helping the people of Cayuga County and around the world have a simple, decent place in which to live.

Habitat builds or renovates houses in partnership with low-income families and sells the house to the families at no profit. Habitat grants the families an interest-free mortgage. The monthly mortgage payments cycle back in to our fund which is used for the next home to be completed. We are currently working on our 11th home.

Cayuga County Habitat is a small organization and run entirely on volunteer efforts. Our funding comes from local individuals, businesses and organizations.

While we are a Christian-based organization a religious affiliation is not necessary to volunteer or to become a partner family. Our volunteers come from all walks of life and with a variety of skills. We have high school and college students, a variety of business professionals, teachers and retirees looking to keep active. Some volunteer as individuals, some as a group. Some come just once; others come back week after week.

In addition to work at our construction site, we are always in need of volunteers for a variety of activities behind the scenes. We have several committees that are instrumental in our success. The Family Selection Committee reviews applications from potential partner families and provides a recommendation to the board for vote. The Family Support Committee provides guidance for the partner family with experiences which may be new to them such as shopping for homeowners insurance or planning a household budget. Clerical work to assist the Fundraising and Public Relations Committee are always welcome. We will match your skill level and interests with something suitable. We want our volunteers to be happy as well as productive.

When asked why they volunteer for Habitat, here are responses from a few fellow board members:

“By volunteering for Habitat, I get something much more than a paycheck; I get a good feeling inside that hopefully I have made a difference in someone's life. I also hope that through volunteering, I have set a good example for my children.”

- Marsha Smith

“I have several reasons for volunteering. The primary reasons that I volunteer are the camaraderie, the sense of accomplishment at the end of these projects and to create some positive change in the community.”

- Nate Krause

“To be part of a team; for religious reasons; satisfaction from accomplishment; to be challenged; to learn something new; to have an impact; to gain leadership skills.”

- Tina Barry

To learn more about Habitat, join us at our Awareness Walk to be held Saturday, May 10. The route goes by several past habitat houses. The start and finish line are at the newly landscaped park downtown, near the city parking garage and Auburn Public Theater. Registration begins at 10 a.m.; walk begins at 11 a.m. A cookout and musical entertainment by Bob Lyna will follow the walk. For more on the event or Habitat, visit www.cayugahabitat.org or call 255-1427.

Jennifer Banas is a board member and chairperson for the public relations committee for Habitat for Humanity.

Finger Lakes SPCA of Central New York

By Sally Coughlin

I have been blessed with having the pleasure of working with the FLSPCA of Central New York. As a volunteer, I walk and socialize with dogs at the shelter and do anything that is asked of me in an effort to help all the animals live a life that they deserve.

Some people say to me that it is so nice of me to work so many extra hours to improve the overall well-being of these displaced animals, but the reality is I am the one that benefits the most. I love all the animals and have had the pleasure of working with so many different species, breeds and families of animals.

I can only say that the more I observe, experience and learn, the more I feel my mission in life is important. My goal is that someday the rest of the world will respect, love and treat animals just as they would treat the people in their life that they care so much about.

I cannot say enough about the FLSPCA.

For many years, they have been the driving force behind helping animals in need in this community. I could single out every person in the FLSPCA, including the director, Carol Russell, and her staff as being the catalyst to a new and bright future of the FLSPCA. But this is a team effort and every person and dedicated volunteer who makes it possible for every animal that comes into our shelter is assured of being adopted into a good home to live a long and full life is appreciated.

If you're interested in becoming a volunteer, visit the FLSPCA Web site at http://www.bci.net/users/FLSPCA/index.html or call the shelter at 253-5841. Volunteers must be 16 years old or older.

Sally Coughlin has volunteered with the Finger Lakes SPCA of Central New York since 1998.