National Volunteer Month is an opportunity to recognize the impact of volunteer service and the power of volunteers to tackle society’s greatest challenges, to build stronger communities and be a force that transforms the world. Each year, we shine a light on the people and causes that inspire us to serve, recognizing and thanking volunteers who lend their time, talent and voice to make a difference in their communities.

This year, Coming of Age will honor our volunteers by having 30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers. On our social media platforms, we will honor a different Coming of Age/RSVP volunteer each day and share their story of how they are making a difference in our community. Please join us as we celebrate National Volunteer Month and our amazing volunteers!

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers- Day 1

Sofia Besondy

Sofia Besondy is a local artist and volunteer at the Old Bakery and Emporium, she also volunteers at the Lakeway Library, Austin Disaster Relief Network and her local church. Her life work spans a multitude of topics, styles, and media. She said, “The more I learn, the more I enjoy experimenting.” She serendipitously discovered a love for painting one summer during college. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t touch a paintbrush again for over 40 years. There wasn’t time for painting in her life as an architect, kindergarten teacher, and single mom. In 2015, she retired and began painting again with the encouragement of her husband. Today, she’s a member of two painting groups, 620 Paint Group and Capital Arts Society, both of which have been helpful and supportive. She express life through the uncertain combination of colors, curves, and lines that blend into something unique and mysterious — like life itself. Even her portraits capture something mystical in the eyes of the subject.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers- Day 2

Nancy Walker

Nancy is the volunteer Executive Director for Funeral Consumer’s Alliance of Central Texas (FCACTX). She has been with the Coming of Age program for almost 9 years and has logged over 13,700 hours of service. Nancy served as the FCACTX Board President for 4 years and as VP for 1 year. She has been the volunteer ED for FCACTX since 2015. She coordinates and facilitates End of Life Options classes, conducts in-service training for hospices and other healthcare providers, produces the FCACTX quarterly newsletter and annual Funeral Home Price Survey, maintains membership records, oversees office operations and volunteers, serves on various community councils and so much more. Nancy has been recognized consistently for contributing over 2,000 hours of service each year, averaging about 185 volunteer hours each month.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 3

Nola Marie Dilworth

Compassion in Action has been a term used to describe some of our volunteers and the service they do. Nola Marie Dilworth is truly representative of that term. She joined Coming of Age in 2012 and she’s already volunteered over 2,300 hours. She volunteers Monday – Thursday with the Sickle Cell Association at the Austin Marc Thomas Foundation. Her volunteer service requires someone to have a very compassionate demeanor when she sends out notification letters from the health department informing parents that their child was born with the Sickle Cell trait.

Her second volunteer placement is on Monday evenings with Hospice Austin’s Christopher House. While there she visits with all the patients and their families. She checks to see if they have a particular need such as someone to talk to or someone to read to them. She gets additional blankets, takes their food trays for them, someone may need her to get the nurse for them quickly and just maybe get a wheelchair. She also takes family members on a tour of the building and she’s there to hold their hands in a time of need. She has also represented Hospice Austin’s Christopher House at health fairs. Our community is a better place because of people like Nola Marie and we are lucky to have her represent Coming of Age and we are proud of the work she does.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 4

Don Saegert

Don Saegert has been volunteering with Drive A Senior North Central since March of 2013. He provides rides to medical appointments, grocery stores and various errands. Don gives hours upon hours of his time, positioned behind the wheel. Additionally he generates what seems like endless supply of energy and flexes a whole lot of muscle strength, completing minor home repairs, and yard work for various Drive A Senior North Central client members.

Don is one of the most dependable and dedicated volunteers, solid as a rock, a refuge to their fragile member recipients and an anchor supporting the organization’s operation staff. People feel comfortable with him and he helps them feel assured that he will take care of them. Don said that volunteering is a good use of his time and being retired, he says he’d rather not waste precious time. Drive A Senior and Coming of Age are proud of Don and his dedication to helping others.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 5

Bill Miller

For 14 years, Bill Miller has driven seniors to their destinations 2,470 times for Drive a Senior ATX and has been partnered with Coming of Age for almost as long. Bill recently retired from the agency, but drove 55,400 miles during his year of volunteering. That’s two times around the Earth plus 5,000 miles. Although Bill won’t miss the time he spent away from his wife and fighting Austin traffic, he will miss his clients. Thank you for your dedication to serving others Bill. We appreciate all you’ve done!

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 6

Margarine Beaman

Margarine Beaman has made volunteering her full time career and she’s got the resume to prove it. Her volunteer work stretches from the American Council for the Blind, American Youthworks, Blinded Veterans Association, Salvation Army, Rotary Club, Travis County Historical Commission, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, LBJ Library and Museum, Bob Bullock History Museum, Area Agency on Aging, Blue Santa and Conley Guerrero Senior Center to name a few. Margarine’s passion for volunteering and helping her community knows no bounds and she truly embodies the notion of giving back to the community. Margarine has been with the RSVP/Coming of Age program for almost 25 years and has reported more than 55,000 hours with us during that time.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 7

Del Goss

Del Goss is another professional volunteer who donates so much of himself to helping others. Prior to the pandemic, Del consistently volunteered over 2000 hours each year. He is a key volunteer for Florence’s Comfort House, Emancipet, Austin Habitat for Humanity and the Montopolis Community Alliance. He also cares for feral cats in his neighborhood. Del has been with Coming of Age/RSVP for over 12 years and has reported over 21,000 hours with us during that time.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 8

Estrellita Doolin

Estrellita has been a dedicated volunteer with Foundation Communities since 2015, serving first with their adult English as a Second Language program and then becoming an advocate for the organization. Since becoming a volunteer Teaching Assistant with their adult ESL classes four years ago, Estrellita has served over 340 hours of service with this program alone, including 72 hours in 2018. She has touched the lives of hundreds of students. Learning basic English is essential to the success of the Foundation Communities residents. Without this skill, many find it hard to get a job, pay their bills, or even decipher the bus schedule.

The ESL teachers strongly rely on volunteers to assist them during class and help with one-on-one tutoring for adults who need extra support with their language skills. Estrellita treats all students with great respect, insisting on learning names any time a new student comes into the classroom. She is admired for her command of a classroom, her self-sufficiency, and the joyful energy she brings to every interaction.

As an ESL volunteer, Estrellita has directly affected the lives of students, helping them build not just self-sufficiency, but also a community. As a community advocate, Estrellita has worked to engage others in supporting the mission of Foundation Communities as volunteers and donors. Foundation Communities says they are fortunate to have as caring and committed a volunteer as Estrellita.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 9

Eugene Becker

Eugene Becker was an active volunteer at one of the local hospitals pre-covid. But of course like a lot of volunteer positions it was closed down in March 2020. When a Coming of Age staff member dropped off his gift card this fall, he mentioned how much he would like to get back to volunteering again. He was now more limited due to some health issues and was not really comfortable about getting back out in public during the pandemic. It just so happened that the staff member needed some help with folding some tri-fold flyers that were needed for the Coming of Age Healthy Living workshops. Eugene enthusiastically offered to help. The papers were delivered and Eugene got them done in half the time we expected. Coming of Age staff is so appreciative of the help to get the job done!

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 10

Richard Bondi

Richard is a busy and enthusiast community volunteer with various groups and nonprofits in Austin. He has 30 years of volunteer experience, mostly part-time, from 1985 – present. Austin volunteer groups include: Coming of Age LGBT Coalition on Aging LGBT Elder Task Force Commission on Seniors, Domains Work Group Research Advisory Board, Quality of Life Commission Survey We appreciate Richard and all the hard work he continues to do for our community and for Coming of Age.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 11

Buffalo Soldiers/First Ladies of Texas

As part of the Texas State Parks, Living History Program, you can join the Buffalo Soldiers and learn how to track an animal, fish with a cane pole or cook over a campfire. They play traditional games, use the sun to find directions, learn Native American skills, and even saddle a horse. They make connections between history and the outdoors. Their goal is to not only share history, but to share their story. You might also see the 9th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers attend parades, rodeos, historical commemorations and ceremonies and make appearances in public schools.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 12

Joan Cox

Joan Cox has been with the Coming of Age/RSVP program for almost 18 years. She is best known as the lead Line Dance instructor at the South Austin Senior Activity Center where she teaches classes in person and offers recorded classes online. Joan is also the Secretary of the Austin Amateur Radio Club (AARC), a member of the Amateur Radio Emergency Services group and has assisted with the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (COCORAHS) for many years on a daily basis by volunteering to read rain gauge measurements for weather service. She volunteers well over 300 hours each month both in person and virtually.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 13

Jim Spencer

Jim has a long history of involvement in community and charitable organizations. He is on the board of directors of Service Dogs, Inc. Jim co-hosted the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association for 19 years. He has been a mentor in Austin’s Communities in Schools program and was named Langford Elementary School’s Mentor of the Year. He serves on the Community Advisory Board for the Helping Hand Home for Children, where he has also served as a “buddy” to abused and neglected children served by the Home. Jim has served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for abused and neglected children of Travis County. He represents KXAN in the station’s longtime partnership with Family Eldercare’s summer fan drive. He is a member of the Advisory Council for the Travis County Coming of Age program, and worked with the ARC of the Capital Area, an organization dedicated to helping area residents with developmental disabilities. Each year he teaches hundreds of area school children about severe weather safety.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 14

Teddy Ellis

Teddy volunteers for Drive A Senior North Austin and Teddy represents the very best qualities desired in a volunteer and leads by example. She happily assists clients with transportation, shopping excursions and an occasional lunch along the way. She supports all our fundraising efforts. She often comes by the office bearing sweet stories and encouragement for the staff, keeping them connected, encouraged, and engaged in a deeply personal way.

In 2019, Teddy drove 67 different clients to 337 places on 589 trips across 5,190 miles and spent 422-1/2 hours with them. That is a serious gift of self to our senior community. In mid 2019, Teddy took command of the van program getting it off the starting blocks and into full operational mode. She worked closely with the office and helped build the program into a success. Besides her passion to help with the usual line up of rides and requests, Teddy’s connection to the clients is beyond the norm. She keeps her finger on the pulse of some of the less fortunate clients and makes sure they find help with necessities or services from other agencies whenever possible. She does not abide suffering if she can possibly help abate it. They have taken several calls from Teddy with concerns from clients too embarrassed to let the agency know they had needs Drive A Senior might help them meet. She is a real friend to the clients.

During the 2019 holiday closing, Teddy heard from a client she regularly transports that his doctor had a new kidney available. Without hesitation, she altered her holiday plans and went full out to accommodate his medical needs. From his transportation to the hospital, to sitting beside his elderly mother, patiently waiting throughout the procedure, keeping her company, offering support and help to keep spirits up and worries down during the wait, Teddy was a rock solid presence. Thank you Teddy for all that you do.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 15

Samuel Price

After retiring from the military and retiring from the City of Austin this lifelong public servant is now a Coming of Age volunteer. Sam is still serving his community any way he can by doing special projects with Coming of Age. Sam helps with the National Days of Service MLK Day and 9/11 Day of Service, along with collecting and delivering donations to community centers and nonprofits. Sam can always be counted on to help when needed and he’s a valuable community volunteer.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 16

World Famous *BOB*

In an effort to create a future where all members of the LGBTQIA+ community thrive, World Famous *BOB* has co-founded the Austin LGBT Elder Task Force; whose sole mission is to create a SAGE for the greater Austin area to provide services and programming. *BOB* leads the Austin LGBTQIA+Allies Fun Force! with free monthly activities in the Austin area for people ages 18-110 to bridge the generational gap that inhibits the Queer community from the sharing, preservation and building of their culture and history. Advocating for the elders in our Qmmunity and creating space for authentic connection amongst a variety of generations is her passion. World Famous *BOB* also hosts our Virtual Bingo Social Events!

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 17

John Conrado

John Conrado has a long history with RSVP, serving with us for nearly 27 years. John’s mother had been a very active RSVP volunteer and showed John the importance of the program and the impact that senior volunteers can make in their community. John began with DaS South Austin when it was in its infancy. It was a small organization working to help seniors remain in their homes with a little extra help from volunteers, evolving into the South Austin Caregivers.

Over the years, John has served in every volunteer job DaS South Austin had to offer. He also served on the Drive a Senior Network representing the South Austin program. Under John’s leadership as DaS South Austin Board President, he was always involved, fair, sharing ideas and working to carry out responsibilities that were in the best interest of the program. Upon turning 90, John decided to retire from his volunteer activity to care for his family. We appreciate the many years he has volunteered with our program, the Drive a Senior program and his commitment to service.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 18

Martha Fernandez

Martha Fernandez, a new volunteer with Coming of Age, hand-made 40 hats and donated them to the Travis County Community Center at Oak Hill. Martha loves to crochet in her free time and especially loves to make things for the members of our community who need them most. When Martha found out there was a need for warm hats during winter, she got right to work crocheting.

Jane Prince-Maclean, the Administrator of the Oak Hill Community Center said “ The center will use these warm beautiful hats to distribute at the Oak Hill Alliance Freeze Shelter to guests who need a warm place to come to this winter on our coldest nights of the season.” Guests at the freeze shelter will be able to get a warm meal, hot shower, hot meal, and a safe warm place to sleep for the night. And now, they can choose a beautiful new hat, made with love by one of the volunteers with Coming of Age.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 19

Victor Rojo

Victor Rojo is a relatively new Coming of Age volunteer, but has been giving back for a very long time. Victor has been a law enforcement official for almost 40 years, so giving back to his community is second nature to him. He is a retired San Marcos Police officer and currently serves as a police investigator for the State of Texas. In the past, Victor has volunteered for the Boy Scouts of America and as a Treasurer with various law enforcement organizations. Currently, he is the Treasurer for his local Neighborhood Watch committee, provides volunteer security service for his church and is an active volunteer for City and County-wide special events. Victor has had the honor of serving as Santa at the Travis County Healthy Families holiday celebration. His bi-lingual skills helped with the children who come from Spanish speaking households. In his free time, Victor enjoys going to the movies, watching sports, spending time with his grandsons and playing with his dogs. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Victor for all that his does to make our community safer and a better place to live. We appreciate you!

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 20

Penny Goering

Penny has been volunteering at Texas Search and Rescue since 2014. She has received six certifications in Basic Incident Command Systems; and obtained CPR/AED, Wilderness First Aid, Mantracking and Ground Search and Rescue Technician certifications. Penny not only assists with organizational administration and membership for over 20 members statewide, but she is also integral in command during incidents managing documentation, communications and other tasks critical to emergency response. She has worked in partnership with numerous organizations including the Texas Forestry Service, County Commissioners, the Office of Emergency management and fare and law enforcement to ensure the TEXASAR volunteers have the resources they need to help the community in times of disaster.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 21

Ronna Keagle

Ronna Keagle volunteers with Coming of Age Austin as an A Matter of Balance coach. As a retired physical therapist whose professional work with community dwelling older adults showed her the importance of an active lifestyle in fall prevention, she finds the A Matter of Balance program is a natural match: an evidence-based program that addresses fear of falling while encouraging exercise and activity. Coming of Age provides training and support for coaches and everyone completes the class with new-found friends and a built-in support group.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 22

Ray Voith

Ray Voith is a retired engineer who decided not to just sit around the house. He found things he could enjoy while he was contributing. Ray decided that instead of working with algorithms and numbers he would focus on working with people. He teaches ESL at Manos de Cristo twice a week and has done so for over 8 years. In addition to teaching ESL at Manos, Ray also teaches guitar lessons for Lifetime Learning. Ray is very motivated and he uses humor and fun to keep his student’s engaged and laughing.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 23

Hal and Karen Ferguson

Hal and Karen Ferguson have been long time volunteers with St. David’s South Austin Medical Center and volunteers with Coming of Age for over 15 years. Hal serves as the volunteer manager of the gift shop. Four years ago, South Austin Hospital decided to offer Karen a paid position with them after her many years of volunteer service. Although she is employed with them, Karen still goes above and beyond what her job responsibilities are. Hal has numerous responsibilities which include managing gift shop volunteer activities and schedules, recruiting new Coming of Age volunteers and collecting and submitting volunteer activity reports. He also serves as the South Austin Hospital Auxiliary Board Treasurer.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 24

Della Sprager

Even when Della Sprager was employed by Travis County RSVP/Coming of Age, volunteering was an important part of her life. For over 26 years, Della has given back to so many agencies including The Austin Symphony, Lifetime Learning Institute, Bass Concert Hall, Bob Bullock State History Museum, the Paramount Theater and much more. Della was instrumental in developing the Senior Volunteers for Childhood Immunization program for Coming of Age where older volunteers visited mother’s of newborn babies to educate them about the importance of vaccination. She was also responsible for the Meals on Wheels volunteer team that Travis County Health and Human Services had for many years. Della is committed to service and still assists her elderly neighbors and volunteers with her neighborhood watch program.

30 Days of Celebrating Coming of Age/RSVP Volunteers – Day 25

Sid and Carol Stuewe

Sid and Carol Stuewe have been volunteering with the Volunteer Tax Assistance program (VITA) for over 40 years. When Foundation Communities launched their Community Tax Center (CTC) program in 2004, the Stuewes were instrumental in helping develop and implement a training program for volunteers and get the program off the ground. They donated computers, prepared taxes and mentored less experienced volunteers. Thanks in large part to their efforts, the program has grown from assisting with the preparation of 2,700 tax returns in 2004 to over 20,000 returns. Sid and Carol Stuewe have given decades of service to their community, doing so generously, unselfishly and always with a calm demeanor that puts clients at ease. CTC has seen clients overwhelmed with back taxes and tax debt who have come in desperation, only to leave with a smile on their faces and immense gratitude for the assistance and peace of mind they have received from Sid and Carol. The number of individuals they have assisted is immeasurable. We sincerely thank them for their commitment to making our community a better place to live.