Three Eagle View Adult Center volunteers, Phonia Diedtrich, Josie Villalva, and Betty Lou West, were presented with a Red Sweater Award for Outstanding Volunteers at the group’s annual volunteer event on April 24.
“The people selected are nominated and selected by their peers. Eagle View Adult Center couldn’t run without volunteers with big hearts,” said Sue Corbett, Eagle View Adult Center Manager.
The Red Sweaters Awards have been given since 1996. The three volunteers received the prestigious award at the event “We’d Be a Zoo Without You.”
According to officials, the Eagle View Adult Center has 114 volunteers who have fulfilled various jobs at its center and within the surrounding Brighton Community and have 5,100 recorded service hours since 2023.
Diedtrich began volunteering with Eagle View in 2012. She enjoys helping with the lunch program, pouring beverages and serving meals to the seniors, according to a news release from Eagle View. She also helps with special events in the dining room, such as bingo and bridge, and mailing the monthly Eagle View newsletter.
“I like being around people, and I was new to Brighton,” Diedtrich said. “I started when it was the old Eagle View Center. I had quit working, and it was one way to get to know others,” Diedtrich said.
Villalva has been volunteering with Eagle View every Monday since 2013. She helps set up the lunch program, serve food, run the dishwasher, and interact with seniors at lunch. She also helps with special events such as the spaghetti luncheon and craft fair.
“I was retired and I wanted to do something for the community,” Villalva said. “I love going there and helping the seniors, serving them luncheons, and interacting with them.”
One of the nomination forms for Villalva had a comment from her peers, “She is always there every Monday in the kitchen, always performs her duties efficiently and is always friendly and willing to help.”
West, a retired teacher, started volunteering in 2003 with Eagle View’s pen pal program. The pen pal program started with South Elementary in 1991, with West working with second and fifth-graders and high school students to write kind letters to the seniors. She also works with students of various abilities and volunteers to bake cakes for special events.
“It was a total surprise to receive the award. It felt right to volunteer. I was a school teacher helping the little critters write letters. I got into volunteering with my friend Jane Talbot, who was also a school teacher. She passed away,” West said.
The volunteer peer who nominated West commented, “West was “extremely caring and a very positive force in her community.”