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In celebration of Older American Month, the standout service of seven senior volunteers is recognized in a special ceremony during the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors meeting earlier this month. The award recipients are, from left, Pat Biel (on behalf of recipient David Huleva), Joe Miguel, Lois Glass, Bubbles Miguel, Pat Alamao, Wayne Shimizu and Bernice Kong. —Courtesy photo

Senior Volunteer Award Recipients Recognized

By Jennifer K. Morita

Thousands of older adults in Sacramento County are putting their golden years to good use, whether it’s feeding hungry seniors or helping them exercise their brains.

In celebration of Older Americans Month, the Adult and Aging Commission recognized seven standout senior volunteers including Bernice Kong, David Huleva, Lois Glass, Pat Alamao, Wayne Shimizu and Joe and Bubbles Miguel.

“Many seniors have been volunteering their services for decades, so I think it’s always a good thing to acknowledge those that help us,” said Adult and Aging Commissioner Alex Eng, who coordinated this year’s awards.

“It also helps encourage other seniors to get involved as well.”

President John F. Kennedy established May as Older Americans Month in 1963, when only 17 million living Americans had reached their 65th birthdays and nearly a third lived in poverty, according to the Administration on Aging.

Today more than 41 million Americans are aged 65 and older. They’re not only living longer, they’re volunteering their services in the community as well.

“It’s no secret, we’re all getting older and the aging community is getting larger,” Eng said, adding that the economic crisis has forced agencies to cut senior services at a time when the population is growing.

“It’s quite a challenge to keep things going.”

Older Americans Month helps put the spotlight on the needs of seniors as well as recognize their contributions, said Eng, a former state employee who wanted to continue serving after he retired.

“It certainly doesn’t hurt to call attention to our senior situation…and remind the Board of Supervisors that we’re still here and a number of us are doing good work,” he said. “What’s nice is that it also acknowledges our senior volunteers.”

Each year the Adult and Aging Commissions honors senior volunteers like 90 year-old David Huleva, who has been volunteering at the Senior Center of Elk Grove nearly every day for the last 30 years.

Huleva rides his bike to the center Monday through Friday and serves lunch to seniors. He also sorts and distributes canned goods each month and helps maintain the center by climbing up onto the roof and removing debris after storms.

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“I just saw an opportunity to help people,” said Huleva. “It’s pretty hard to get people to serve and clean up. I just wanted to give something back to the community after I retired.”

Huleva, a retired Sacramento Army Depot foreman, said the award was unexpected.

“I don’t believe I should have it. I believe others are more worthy than me. I just wanted to give back to the community, and I don’t think I need an award for that,” Huleva said.

“It’s great to be able to help. I think as long as you’re healthy enough to do it, more people should volunteer and be givers instead of just takers.”

Fellow award recipient Wayne Shimizu agrees.

“I think volunteering just adds more depth and value to my retirement by being able to contribute to others,” he said.

The 62 year-old California Department of Education retiree has been volunteering at the Asian Community Center since 1990, when he started helping out at the nursing home’s weekly Bingo sessions.

When Bingo ended in 2007, Shimizu started holding “memory training” workshops that helped seniors improve their memories through entertaining brain exercises.

“It’s a holistic approach to living well and keeping fit,” Shimizu said. “It kind of grew out of leading some exercise classes that had a minor mental acuity piece, and it just seemed like putting the whole picture together made a lot of sense.

“… A lot of people have been interested in doing it.”

Since then, he has taught Brain Fitness at various sites throughout Sacramento.

“There was a woman who had to renew her driver’s license and she came up to me and said the memory techniques helped her remember stuff for the test,” Shimizu said. “I was pretty tickled about that. Those stories make me feel good about what I do.”

The reward from Adult and Aging Commission was just a bonus “treat.”

“I was honored that they would pick me,” he said. “But there are all kinds of unheralded volunteers who aren’t recognized. There are tons of them out there that do a lot of work for agencies, who are kind of invisible, but they love doing it.”

Bernice Kong is longtime volunteer at the Cordova Senior Center, who arrives every morning at 7:40 to prepare and serve food to seniors as well as schedule volunteers. She also started a weekly piano sing-along.
In addition to their popular Life History Writing Class at the Hart Senior Center, every year Joe and Bubbles Miguel dress up as Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus and visit a dozen different charities throughout the region. Joe’s antics are also a popular draw at the Hart Senior Center’s Strength and Balance exercise class, which he leads.

Lois Glass also received a volunteer award for her work at the front counter of the Mission Oaks Community Center in Carmichael.

Glass not only pitches in where she’s needed, she also volunteered her daughter’s baby lambs for the center’s Easter festivities.

The Adult and Aging Commission also recognizes a volunteer from a non-profit organization and this year’s recipient was Pat Alamao, a volunteer supervisor at Senior Gleaner’s.

Over the years, Alamao has helped train volunteers on the food bank computer system, taken charge of the accounts and supervises the inventory. Not only does Alamao work at Senior Gleaners five days a week, she also filled a vacant spot on the board.

The Older Americans Month Senior Volunteer Award recipients were recognized during a special ceremony at the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors meeting May 7.

Jennifer K. Morita is a freelance writer in West Sacramento.

 

 

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