Service to one’s community and its residents isn’t restricted to people of a certain age and doesn’t require specific skill sets. All one needs is the motivation to volunteer their time and abilities, and a desire to help.
Nancy Conner is a great example.
The retired speech and language therapist has made helping others a priority throughout her life. In retirement she is on the go constantly — possibly as much or more than when she worked full time. For example, she volunteers at Just Friends Adult Day Services, teaches cooking skills and nutrition to adults with disabilities, delivers meals to the homebound, has hiked remote mountains to raise money for a youth organization and helps a single mother of four children with housekeeping, employment, budgeting and positive parenting skills.
"I love doing it. I feel like it fulfills my needs but also meeting the needs of others. I just couldn’t not get up and not feel as through I was not doing something for others," Conner said.
It’s for those types of contributions that Conner, 73, recently received the Golden Hoosier Award from Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch. The award is the highest honor bestowed upon a senior citizen in Indiana, and recognizes outstanding seniors for their lifetime of service to their communities.
Conner is a great example of how a person can help their community in many ways and for many years. She’s an example for others who wonder how they can help and make a difference.
It just takes a spark of desire.
