National Volunteer Recognition Month

Contact: ERH Public Relations at (513) 272-5555, ext. 4288

CINCINNATI (April 2, 2008) – April is National Volunteer Recognition Month, but the volunteers of ERH give the organization a reason to celebrate all year round. From the Corner Store and the activities department, to the fitness center and the auxiliary board, ERH’s residents are touched by the gifts of time and compassion that their volunteers freely give. This year alone, volunteers have dedicated over 9,000 hours of their valuable time to ERH staff and residents. According to Kim Muse, volunteer coordinator, “Our residents’ homes are enhanced by the mission of community that comes directly from the heart of each and every volunteer that we have, and for that, we are truly thankful.”

Recently, Emma Jane Hazzard Dickman, a Deupree Meals on Wheels volunteer for the past twenty-five years, passed away. According to Rick Slagle, Meals on Wheels supervisor, “Emma was always reliable and genuinely kind. She was always doing things for other people.” To recognize Emma’s compassionate giving to the Meals on Wheels program her son, Tom, wrote about her life to share with ERH staff. The following is an excerpt from Tom’s letter. “My mother, Emma Jane Hazzard Dickman, was 96 years young when she passed on. For years, nearly two decades, she had been a librarian in the Cincinnati Public Library system... For the last 25 years after her retirement she also handled Meals on Wheels... My mother led an exemplary life.”

Volunteers like Emma who are committed to serving their community enhance the care ERH gives to those whom it serves. It may seem trite to say, but ERH would not be what it is today without the noble dedication of its
volunteers.

About Episcopal Retirement Homes:
Founded in 1951, Episcopal Retirement Homes (ERH) is a not-for-profit organization that owns and/or manages Deupree House, Marjorie P. Lee Retirement Community and St. Paul Village in Cincinnati; Canterbury Court in West Carrollton; and Cambridge Heights in Cambridge, Ohio.

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