Cherry Hill Manor celebrates volunteers

“Celebrating volunteers,” read a colorful poster inside Cherry Hill Manor. “Many hands make light work!”

That was perhaps an understatement, given the grand gala that the award-winning nursing and rehabilitation center held for upwards of two-dozen “valuable volunteers” last Thursday evening in Johnston.

“We love giving back to the volunteers that helps us make a difference in our residents’ lives,” said Tracey Cordeiro Arpin, Cherry Hill’s activities director. “And they do so freely and out of the goodness of their hearts.”

From the time people entered the dining room, it was obvious that the night belonged to a special group of people.

“The theme of this year’s Volunteer Awards Dinner was ‘Ocean Side,’” Cordeiro Arpin said. “It’s spring, and summer’s almost here. The ocean always provides a unique, soothing setting, no matter what the season. It’s like our volunteers – they’re all a breath of fresh air.”

“This is a beautiful setting,” said Lucy Monti. “This staff is special. Look at all these prizes.”

Everything – from the delicious dinner prepared by kitchen manager Vinny Martin to the desserts and music that was played by entertainer extraordinaire Steve Burke – was fit for a king or queen, let alone volunteers.

“Loraine DiLorenzo did an amazing job coordinating this event,” Cordeiro Arpin said of her colleague, who serves as Cherry Hill’s assistant activities director. “She’s also in charge of our volunteer program.”

That includes two groups of volunteers – people from the community who so kindly give of their time, and residents who want to do something special for their friends.

“It isn’t easy to select a Volunteer of the Year for either group,” Cordeiro Arpin said. “I feel that everyone deserves an award and everyone is amazing. But after some real lengthy discussion, we did decide on two people.”

Viola Mattera was selected as Resident Volunteer of the Year and received a bouquet of wild flowers.

“Viola is always eager to help the activities department and takes pride in running our raffle tables,” Cordeiro Arpin said. “She has helped us raise a significant amount of money that gets contributed towards our Garden Club, upgrading the technology for our residents and other important services.”

The Volunteer of the Year for outside help is Robert Ferraro, who was unable to attend the awards dinner but who Cordeiro Arpin said is “always there when we need him, from assisting us with outings to helping us serve food during musical and entertainment programs to giving our residents one-to-one TLC. He is an amazing asset to our department.”

Also honored during the dinner were volunteers from the Franciscan Ministers, Mount Pleasant, Saint Bellarmine, Holy Cross Church and Life Care at Home.

The outside volunteers were Robert Ferraro, Frances Ramunno, Joe Box, Lucy Monti, Lisa Ricamo, Nancy Carrot, Roger Byron, John Ferguson, Delrina Student, Sandy Carrillo and Delrina Trident. In-house volunteers were Viola Mattera, Connie Diaz, Linda Graham, Kenny Crowell and Gloria Camuso.