Melwood Salutes Volunteers During National Volunteer Week

April 22-29 marked National Volunteer Week. This annual celebration brings awareness and shows appreciation to those who volunteer their time and talent to make their communities a better place.

At Melwood, our volunteers work tirelessly to provide support to our core services and help transform the lives of the people we serve. Melwood deeply values and appreciates the commitment of our volunteers. Please take a moment to learn more about some of the people who volunteer their time and service to our organization.

LaWanda Prailow joined us in August of 2016 assisting with clerical duties. As one of our newer volunteers, LaWanda thought Melwood would be a “great place to volunteer, give back, and help others.” It is in memory of her daughter, Andrea, that LaWanda chose to volunteer. Andrea was born with a developmental delay and other health conditions. Volunteering at Melwood reminds LaWanda of Andrea and the experiences she shared with her. LaWanda looks forward to her days at Melwood and working with such friendly, nice, and helpful employees.

Cleonice Copus has volunteered with Melwood since 1993. After years of traveling with participants during Melwood's Access Adventures program, Cleonice began working with our Community Based Services participants on The Melwood Gourd Project. Each day, she assists Melwood participants as they grow gourds, and later harvest and clean them to use for craft projects. Cleonice enjoys seeing the many happy faces and looks forward to building more warm friendships at Melwood as the Gourd Poject continues to flourish.

Yolanda Davis chose to volunteer at Melwood in February 2017 because she believes in this “wonderful organization” and being a veteran, she was amazed by the programs Melwood offers to assist those battling with post-traumatic stress. Each day, she looks forward to supporting Melwood’s mission and working with “an amazing staff.” Yolanda is responsible for helping with clerical duties in different departments. She believes it is important to give back and help others whenever possible.

Joshua Pooranmal is 20 years old and has been volunteering at Melwood for almost two months He spends his time researching and compiling lists, and conducting outreach for the External Affairs department. He recently volunteered at the Melwood plant sale booth during the Leesburg Garden Festival. At the festival, Joshua assisted Melwood’s Horticultural team as they sold plants, raised money, and promoted Melwood and its mission.

Joshua chose to volunteer with Melwood because he genuinely believes in our mission statement and believes Melwood does a great job empowering people of differing abilities. What he enjoys most is knowing that he is making a difference in someone’s life and in the community. He looks forward to continuing to help the organization any way he can.