Signed Electronically Summer Camp Teen Volunteer Made Easy

Signed electronically summer camp teen volunteer

several of us have literally grown old while this project is going on it's been so many years but we have to leave things we did do to future generations and i hope we've had fun growing old doing it i know i have we're just giving birth to it and i'd hope it just goes on and on and on getting bigger and better i am so very happy to extend congratulations to you fred and lena who totally bring to bear now and for future generations the important message that the eye needs something to it has the natural elements that many gardens would just give anything to have and it goes far beyond just being a beautiful place and it makes me feel very good inside fact i almost get goosebumps and it overwhelms me to see so many people here and meet so many people my objective would make this the most enlightening pleasurable place to visit whether you're 90 years old or you're five years old but now that we have acquired so many it's hard for me to have one particular sculpture that is my favorite we are so very proud to be associated with the growing accomplishment of the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park and look forward to all the new things yet to come our dreams keep moving it's a moving target this is going to be better garden it's going to be better sculptures and we're getting the world renown now and we're going to get better and we're going to get better we're going to get better you ain't seen nothing yet good evening through the power of technology it is my honor and privilege to welcome you to the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park Welcome Center. in 57 days we will open our new Welcome Center designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien i hope to inspire you by coming to you virtually from this new space while i am pleased that we can thank you and honor you virtually in this virtual format it is clearly second best second best because i love being together and i know you do too sharing conversation sharing smiles sharing good food and witnessing with each other all the good works you have performed for others you truly do make the world a better place it is why we use the terminology physical distancing and not the more common social distancing we do need to be physically distanced from one another to prevent the spread of COVID-19 however we can never let ourselves be socially distant from one another the social connections we make to build relationships we treasure for a lifetime it is being socially connected that helps further our mission when you help someone out it is the social connections that promote the understanding and therefore appreciation of sculpture and horticulture it is the short yet meaningful conversations we have by chance when we see each other as we go about our day the worst days of the pandemic for me were the days when only a very few of us were here and the hallways were all dark and all communication was done electronically i'll be candid those were difficult days last year this important appreciation event happened to fall on veterans day i shared with you a poem i read about Pearl Harbor this year i want to pay special tribute to all the front line workers who have kept our hospitals health care centers food supplies treatment centers and the economy running this includes you who have come out and helped Meijer Gardens to be open i often refer to Meijer Gardens as an oasis of joy and well-being in a chaotic world and we are just that i hear it directly from the people who visit us and i see it in our attendance numbers that have steadily grown since we reopened on june 8th let me share the words of sam phillips who posted on social media about the Chrysanthemums & More! exhibition quote "i was blown away by the exhibit it truly was one of the most beautiful arrangements i had ever seen the park itself is gorgeous right now chrysanthemums and fall flowers everywhere it's like being in an autumn wonderland if you haven't gone yet this season you need to i'd love to just live there everything was so well done and absolutely beautiful" well sam i couldn't agree more and i thank you for making this post on social media by the way i talked to Lena Meijer the other day at 101 and a half years old she continues her remarkable life when i talked to her she asked about myer gardens and how things are going and what is new it is very difficult for her not to be able to come out and decorate her beloved german tree as we prepare for the annual Metro Health Christmas & Holiday Traditions exhibition Lena joins me in extending our appreciation to all of you for the important work you do to further our mission Absopure has been our faithful sponsor of this event since 2004. that's 16 years Bill Young and Brian Roon from Absopure come out each year to the event to join us and see all of you Bill and Brian like to form long-term relationships absopure has been serving Michigan for 112 years that is amazing and is a testament to their hard work and ingenuity Bill and Brian we are grateful for your support and cannot wait to be together next year if a virtual hug is possible i'm sending it to all of you now i'm trying to send all of you a hug because you're a tremendous source of inspiration and motivation to me each and every day i see the way you greet our guests the way you help them out in the gift shop to find just the right item and making a sale for our mission our gardens are more beautiful in our horticulture exhibitions more fantastic because every day so many volunteers are making good things happen i get to see and hear how education volunteers put meaning and energy into the action word of our mission statement the action word is promote and through education you promote the understanding and appreciation of our mission to our guests and all that we do i want to share a story that warmed my heart before we could reopen several of you asked if you could volunteer even though we were still subject to the shutdown order you made excellent arguments about working outside and being able to maintain proper distancing your passion and dedication to our mission to others was beautifully evident it was very painful not to be able to enthusiastically say yes and accept your offer another thing i'm very grateful to you is for your words of encouragement many of you have said said such kind things to me to all our staff and to each other during these unprecedented times it's important we support each other that we encourage each other and that we help each other out you do this ever so well and it is appreciated you've heard me say this before and that's because it's true most months i get to meet with the members of our volunteer services committee we have fun conversations it's more than fun though it also helps me out a lot and it helps out myer gardens your committee members include jim seeger joe tabor linda gidley karen adabo josie cornell shirley bergen and paul goulet i'm deeply appreciative to them for their friendship and the leadership they give to Meijer Gardens hello everyone i'm so glad that we could get together tonight to honor our volunteers Meijer Gardens celebrated 25 years this past spring and volunteers have been with us that entire time we appreciate all of you and recognize that you are at the core of what we do and have been from the beginning we appreciate those volunteers who have come back since we reopened in June and we appreciate those of you who are keeping us in mind for when you're ready to come back we appreciate those of you who volunteer a regular shift every week and those who help out seasonally we appreciate those helping out behind the scenes and also those of you out interacting with guests we need all of you and we thank you for your contributions to Meijer Gardens and this year in particular i want to thank you for your adaptability your resilience and your willingness to embrace technology you have definitely stepped up to the challenges facing us and have changed along with us this has been critical to our success and it has not gone unnoticed David mentioned the members of the volunteer services committee and i want to thank them as well the committee members represent the volunteer base they bring forward ideas experiences and suggestions from volunteers in various areas they give us another perspective by letting us know what volunteers are seeing and hearing input from committee members has brought about real change and has helped improve the experience for both guests and volunteers so if you have a comment or an idea please share it with one of the committee members the volunteer service committee members also help out with orientation sessions for potential volunteers they help explain the various volunteer positions and they get people excited about volunteering at Meijer Gardens the committee members provide a valuable service to us on top of all the other volunteering that they do so thanks again to our committee members we have such a wonderful volunteer community here at Meijer Gardens thanks for putting your time and talents to work in your volunteer roles and for being part of the Meijer Gardens family unfortunately we have lost some members of that family over the past year and so now we'll take this moment to remember those who have passed and be grateful for what they gave to us into Meijer Gardens good evening everyone thank you for joining us for the 2020 Connie Snell Volunteer Recognition Event while we are unable to come together and share a meal i'm happy that we can still celebrate your remarkable efforts this event isn't the only thing that looks different from years past most things in our lives have been altered at the very least Meijer Gardens has changed we all wear masks and we have learned to smile with our eyes we adhere to physical distancing guidelines and we all smell like hand sanitizer that said we have the Meijer Gardens community many of you have returned to volunteering on site and have reconnected with friends we look forward to hopefully seeing all of you when the time is right while 2020 has been a year of immense challenge our volunteers have stepped up and adapted you do health screenings prior to coming on site every time you volunteer you have read three versions of our COVID 19 response and preparedness plan many of you have let me know that it wasn't your favorite pandemic read but you nonetheless read it three times and maybe we'll have a fourth one for you change is actually fairly consistent at Meijer Gardens there's always something new here a new display in the seasonal garden a new exhibition in the gallery a new activity in the children's garden a new amphitheater a new welcome center and within it a new volunteer center a new volunteer tribute garden in the past 25 years we have been always new and we continue to inspire and create new no matter what's going on in the world one thing that never changes is the gratitude that we feel for you our volunteers this is why we felt that the connie snell volunteer recognition event had to take place this year so we came up with a virtual plan b as per usual we highlight the hard work of each department the thousands of hours donated this year and the years of service that you have given we have your certificates and your years of service pins for the first time 25-year pins will be handed out we have 15 volunteers who have been with us since the beginning and are still active we will announce our traveling awards which will be presented to 13 deserving volunteers and our final award of the night the volunteer of the year award will be revealed by David Hooker if you have a pin or certificate to pick up i will contact you after the event with details on retrieval now let's move to our hours by department now it's time to announce the hours of service by department as you all know volunteers help out everywhere at Meijer Gardens we've tallied up the hours by area for the past fiscal year which is October 1st 2019 until September 30 2020. greeters gave us 951 hours of time volunteers helping at the front desk contributed 4320 hours volunteers at the monitor desk gave 3325 hours our information desk volunteers contributed 3150 hours the tram volunteers including both tram narrators and tram drivers donated 1759 hours our gift shop received 4 863 hours of support from volunteers volunteers assisted in the cafe for 466 hours last year we received 197 hours of facility help from volunteers and our bus buddies donated 169 hours our docents gave 7845 hours last year this is the category with the highest number of total hours so thanks again to our docents volunteers helped out with a variety of education activities and contributed 508 hours in this area the farm garden received 292 hours of support from volunteers our pals gave 2036 hours of time last year and our pale partners contributed 779 hours in the library we received 1814 hours of volunteer time last year outdoor horticulture received four thousand three hundred eighty-six hours of volunteer support and volunteers contributed four 4093 hours to indoor horticulture thanks again to all of our horticulture volunteers it's definitely an impressive amount of hours volunteers also gave 221 hours to birding activities we received 468 hours of help from office and reception volunteers volunteers gave 796 hours for meetings this includes the board of director meetings and various committee meetings volunteers donated 208 hours to help out with our special events and we received 128 hours of volunteer support in the membership area last year Meijer Gardens received a total of 44,978 hours of volunteer support in fiscal year 2020 thanks to all of you for contributing your valuable time well good evening again i'm coming to you from the Daniel and Pamela DeVos Ticketing Center this is our new place to welcome our guests and process them in so a place to get their tickets to buy memberships or to just to check in to give you an idea of perspective in the current admissions desk area there's about 945 square feet dedicated to that activity the room i'm standing in now is 2200 square feet and it's incredible you're getting a little glimpse behind me this is the wall that'll be behind the admission desk the admission desk is actually about right where i'm standing you can see these little conduit poles coming out of the ceiling that's where the video monitors will be for signage and this wood behind me is just absolutely gorgeous in fact i'll swing open this large door this door goes back into the storage room behind the admissions desk for an area for privacy and security now we're going to take a little bit walk around to the other side and i'll show you the view out to a garden and some of the other features of the room okay now i'm on the opposite side of the Daniel and Pamela DeVos Ticketing Center and the camera is facing almost due south out behind me in these past these beautiful picture windows is the new Ram's Garden and the Ram's Garden of course will have beautiful horticulture but we'll also have several of the familiar Marshall Frederick sculptures that were part of Fred Meijer's early collection up above me will eventually be a sculpture by George Segal that hangs from the ceiling appropriately named "The Acrobats" off to my left on the wall will be a really interesting map that will give our guests the perspective of all the 158 acres of what's to see and do here at Meijer Gardens i think it'll be very helpful i just can't wait for you to get in here and start using these new facilities they're truly fantastic up next year milestones all years and hours data that is being presented tonight is on our fiscal year calendar which is october 1 through september 30. so all the data presented is as of september 30 2020 first five years those who began volunteering by october 1 2015 they will receive a five-year pin ten years those who began volunteering by october 1st 2010 they will receive a 10-year pin 15 years those who began volunteering by october 1st 2005. they will receive a 15-year pin 20 years those who began volunteering by october 1st 2000 they will receive a 20-year pin and for the first time ever 25 years of service those who began volunteering by october 1st 1995 they will receive a 25-year pin and they are mary anderson anita avery barbara byneman sarah beth carr sue cousins joan ziewinski joyce devries mary forslund richard geldhoff marsha lucas valerie peacock andrea perry marilyn peterson diane scott and phyllis webb a million thanks to you for 25 years and thank you to all of you now moving on to hours of service 500 hours 750 hours one thousand hours 1 500 hours two thousand hours 2 500 hours three thousand hours 3500 hours four thousand hours 4 500 hours five thousand hours six thousand hours 7 500 hours and finally 10 000 hours Don Kelly has volunteered the most of any volunteer this year congratulations Don now the traveling awards those who win them will hold on to them for one year and then bring them back for next year's winners they are nominated by staff there are tons of nominations each year and many deserving volunteers which makes it hard to pick if you are an award winner you will be contacted by me to make arrangements for you to receive your award Rookie of the Year or Green Horn for the new person who jumps in with both feet and both hands this volunteer just had her one year anniversary she donated 333 hours in her first year her supervisor at the front desk christine has this to say about her it's hard to believe that this volunteer has been working for such a short time and has added so much to guest services she is pleasant to everyone and always happy to come in and work an extra shift even on busy weekends and holidays she asks questions and takes great care of our guests she's always striving to learn more about different areas and attractions of Meijer Gardens we are lucky to have nancy and we enjoy her as much as she enjoys being here the rookie of the year award goes to Nancy Wilson Mighty Mentor the person who was happy to take newbies under their wing this volunteer started in 2004 and has since accumulated 3067 hours here's what mandy had to say about this inspiring volunteer this long time horticulture volunteer has seen and experienced it all here from working in the very beginning in the sculpture park to working in areas of our indoor gardens his insight is always well received by staff and volunteers scott's greatest attribute is his sense of humor he is sure to make you laugh whenever you're around him the mighty mentor award goes to Scott Fowler Behind the Scenes you don't see them you may not hear them but their contribution is quietly wonderful this volunteer has given 2570 hours since 2005. as mandy says he is very kind and conscientious and he dedicates his time to assisting with the metro health christmas and holiday traditions railway garden exhibit as well as the farm garden year after year every october he can be seen in indoor horticulture preparing our trains and trolleys for the upcoming exhibit during the holiday season he works as our train conductor he volunteers weekly every monday to clean the railway tracks test the trains and ensure that they are in good working order and running smoothly for all to enjoy throughout the exhibit each spring summer and fall bob works in the farm garden assisting sean in the vegetable gardens with harvesting planting weeding whatever else needs attention the behind the scenes award goes to Bob Ayers miles of smiles for that volunteer who smiles no matter what bad weather problematic kids change implants they smile anyway this volunteer started in 2009 and has 1783 hours megan kellner says she has the best attitude around is always excited to be here excited to learn and willing to help she is curious and passionate about learning and shares that passion with everyone around her her great attitude is infectious marty and the rest of her team are flexible positive willing to try out new things to learn from one another and to help out in a pinch the miles of smile award goes to Marty MacCleery Octopus for that volunteer involved in so many areas you would think they have eight arms as one could expect from someone winning in this category she volunteers in more than one area here are remarks from shelley and christine shelley says she always has a ready smile and is willing to help with any and all projects that we come up with she does a lot of projects for education as well as those specific to the library she does a great job and i'm always confident in her ability to complete a project exactly as needed often even better christine adds it's not uncommon to see her volunteering somewhere in guest services or in the library she's willing to help wherever she is needed most not just the position she originally volunteered for she is helpful and knowledgeable of many different areas of Meijer Gardens she assists in finding answers to many guest questions and assists in enforcing rules in a gentle way it's not always easy to fill new positions but she's glad to learn new things it's a pleasure to have judy here and we enjoy her friendly smile and willingness to be here the winner of the octopus award is Judi Clapp special events for the volunteer who knocks themselves out for us during our big times of the year and they specialize in special events this volunteer has 9 800 hours since starting in 2006. she volunteers in almost all departments and she plays a major role in our metro health christmas and holiday traditions exhibit here's what lisa roo has to say about our winner she has helped with the exhibition eight years plus she started with the tree skirts and in the last few years has helped with the displays and putting the finishing touches on a few trees she's willing to jump in and help anytime and she's a whiz when it comes to creative solutions the handcrafted theme for this year's exhibition was selected to showcase the talent of the makers and the many hands it takes marge is one of those special people we wanted to honor the winner of the special events award is Marge LaBreck flower power for that horticulture volunteer with the ultimate green thumb this volunteer started in 2009 and has volunteered 3723 hours here is what jacob and tony have to say about our award winner from jacob he is the most dedicated volunteer since i began working at Meijer Gardens as a full-time employee he has assisted me with a grand entry garden every season throughout the winter he helps with all aspects of christmas lights prepping hanging and removal he is also a great help with fall cutbacks and chrysanthemum changeovers he helps keep the polyhouse clean and water throughout the winter as we move into spring he's always a great help with sprinkling up all summer long he works with me and my seasonal gardens to keep the grand entry garden weed free tony says he is extremely dedicated and punctual you can always count on him being here on the days he signed up and he's willing to work in practically any weather condition what i appreciate most about gary is his commitment to helping in the garden and he has never missed a day he is here through all weather and he helps in every rung of garden maintenance the winner of the flower power award is Gary Crispin exceptional education for the volunteer who educates assists and learns alongside the education team in the best way this volunteer started in 2014 and has volunteered 1456 hours megan kellner says she is an exceptional tram narrator and docent who offers regular public tours to guests during her shift she is warm and personable and continually eager to learn and improve her craft as an educator she provides helpful feedback to staff and a truly welcoming experience for our guests she always steps in in a pinch and she exudes professionalism and positivity at all times nancy once asked me to sit in for one of her trams just to get feedback on how she can improve as a narrator i didn't have many notes she's an excellent communicator the winner of exceptional education is Nancy Crawley my right hand for the volunteer who goes above and beyond to provide that exceptional gift of sharing their talent this volunteer has given two thousand four hundred one hours since twenty fourteen here's what ian has to say about our winner this volunteer retired and began working with me in the children's garden shortly after the japanese garden opened up he worked with me in the mornings and then moved to the japanese garden to work in the afternoon with greg and dave after a while he found he was having so much fun working with me in the kids garden that he was spending nearly all day tuesday with me i value the help that i get from all my volunteer buds botanically ultimate dudes and divas and he has been especially helpful when he comes in around 6 30 a.m and blows the paths picks up trash and in the winter apply salt and sand to the paths and boardwalks where it's icy willing to jump in wherever needed whether it's weeding planting watering or anything else thrown at him often i will find him talking to a guest and i kid him about being a chatty kathy more often than not though it turns out to be a former student of his or a parent of a student visiting with their kids and grandkids he's willing to come in even if i am sick or on vacation and he gets things done over the past 25 years i've considered many volunteers as family and dirk is certainly my favorite uncle and also a friend the winner of my right hand is Dirk Pegman dynamic duo this award typically goes to two inseparable volunteers who do everything together this year it's a trio for the past two summers we had grandma grandpa and grandson in the Lena Meijer Children's Garden grandma and grandpa began their shifts in fall of 2016. here's what lestar has to say about them she dedicated her shifts to story times during the butterfly and holiday traditions exhibitions both have manned the great lakes garden boats and the discovery carts he signed up to assist originally as a tram driver but they insisted on training together as pals and their schedule has followed that pattern ever since when he's not busy with the tram i had the great opportunity of having two skilled and team-oriented pals on wednesday afternoons they have been faithful to their shifts and readily accept extra responsibilities that are guest centric like disinfection rounds greeting guests and closing not only have they been such a dynamic and very cute duo sandy and ed also found a program that fits one of their grandchildren and he has been a pale partner for two years the three of them have been so sweet and helpful for the past two summers enough so that we needed to change our award grandson is a curious and helpful young man who's always willing to help and work hard in the role of pal partner he enjoys the discovery of wildlife the frogs toads and the snakes his favorite discovery cart is be a bird detective where he makes his famous morning dove call he's willing to take on different tasks in the children's garden even if it means using the trash grabber on his shifts drew assisted with packaging ladybugs this summer for the garden helper ladybug launch the winner of the dynamic trio award is Ed & Sandy Elzinga and their grandson Drew Baker seasonal sunshine for the volunteer who bring sunshine with them as they help outside in the summertime this volunteer has given 2 354 hours since 2003. during a typical summer she's at concerts and also a pal info specialist lestar says i can always count on seeing her smiling face throughout the spring and summer months she comes in and straightens out the information center and she keeps the back patio clean joanne does not complain no matter how odd the task may be from cutting out stickers cutting hundreds of strings to a certain length labeling resin tracks or cutting open plush birds to replace their batteries the winner of seasonal sunshine is Joanne Keenan now we will return to David who will present the volunteer of the year we've come to a very important part of our evening celebration together virtually together i am now coming to you from the new Volunteer Center on the courtyard level of the Welcome center you can see the beautiful garden behind me this room is absolutely awesome i cannot wait for you all to get in here there's cubbies to lockable cubbies to put your stuff in a nice coat rack a refrigerator great office space and there'll be you know tables and lounge chairs to make everything really comfortable but importantly right now we have someone to honor this person has been volunteering for 25 years since the very beginning of Meijer Gardens she has given 7,515 hours of her time and talent to our mission she is being honored tonight as volunteer in the 25-year category and the highest number of hours category she is very generous with her time and has worked in many areas including concerts docenting education activities member parties outdoor horticulture as a pal and at the tram she returned to volunteering as a docent tram driver and narrator after we reopened in june and has devoted 192 hours just since then she used to teach graduate level science classes at Grand Valley State University and that education background shines through she has dedicated a lot of time learning about the arts while at Meijer Gardens she strives for accuracy and is passionate about making a difference in the lives of those she interacts with here she is extremely knowledgeable and dedicated to bringing joy to others by sharing her wisdom and knowledge we are so glad and fortunate that she is part of the Meijer Gardens family please join me in congratulating Phyllis Webb. hey everybody what y'all doing oh well thanksgiving's coming up so we're getting ready for "Wee Are Thankful" the event in the Children's Garden so we've got some books about thankfulness and we're making an art project and guests can come and share something they're thankful for that sounds super fun well one thing i'm thankful for this time of year is all of our awesome volunteers who help us put on events like this we really couldn't do it without them and you know what i think i think actually a few of them might be watching us like right now really yeah you guys you want to help me to think that yeah we are thankful for you thank you volunteers! thank you volunteers as you all know i came here about a year ago to start working as curator of sculpture i so much appreciated all the warm welcome i received from you thank you for everything you do to make this a great place to work at and to visit all right are we all on mark we can see you we can't hear you mark hear me now yeah all right there he is great all right well thanks for gathering everybody um this is our uh chance to record a volunteer video so i'll kick us off um just really briefly volunteers we really appreciate everything that you do it's a joy to work with you it's a joy to see you around the gardens and sculpture park every day we really appreciate it all that you do for us we could not do what we do without you from the bottom of our hearts thank you thank you thank you thank you so much for giving so freely of your time um we we just appreciate your enthusiasm and your generosity thank you thank you so much hey volunteers i just wanted to give a heartfelt thank you for all your your time and your dedication you guys are truly remarkable and resilient in this uh time of the pandemic hey volunteers sending out a huge thank you there's so many things you guys do behind the scenes that we wouldn't be able to function without you so thank you oh sorry i'm late i was busy doing inventory and then i had to make some changes on the website and then i had to print some job tickets for mark um anyway what did i miss hello from the hospitality department we'd like to thank all the volunteers for all that you do across Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park today we'd like to do a special thank you to the volunteers that help the hospitality department in our cafe as well as our private events thank you cheers to volunteers! thank you volunteers we are so grateful that you've chosen to volunteer your time here at Meijer Gardens we appreciate you and we thank you thank you for donating your time and talent to Meijer Gardens whether you're here every week or for the season we thank you watching volunteers inspires me to do more i thank you for your service we could not operate this wonderful organization without all of you thank you volunteers well i am representing our team of facility attendants they tend to be a little camera shy and it's hard to get us all together in one place so you're gonna have to deal with just me but realize that it's i'm speaking for all of them we want to say thank you to our wonderful volunteers for making it possible for us to open our doors each day for greeting our guests for giving them information for leading tram tours for making gardens look spectacular for making our annual exhibits happen for educating children when they just think they're playing for making helping us make music in our amphitheater and so many many many many more things than we could possibly name thank you to our wonderful volunteers on behalf of the FA team g stands for great guest service u stands for unlimited flexibility e stands for exceptional teamwork s stands for successful operations t stands for tireless optimism s stands for smiles galore e stands for enthusiastic r stands for really fun v is for versatile workers i is for information givers c is for courteous e is for excellent detail givers volunteers we are so thankful for you you bring zest and spunk and life to our organization you bring laughter and fun you bring hard work dedication positive energy you know i know many of you but there's many i don't know but i've had so many great experiences with you i remember sitting at a lunch table hearing from two volunteers about where they were in hawaii at the bombing of pearl harbor i remember walking in on icy days when i can't believe i decided to drive into work or that i made it and there i am surrounded by multiple volunteers that didn't need to even come in i've had the great privilege of laughing with you and even crying with some of you but constantly i'm reminded every day to find something that you really enjoy and believe in and do that and do it well and so we just want to say that you are so amazing and we so appreciate you and though thank you cannot say it enough we definitely want to say thank you thank you thank you during this challenging year we've had to find new ways of showing appreciation to the people we care about like having this annual volunteer appreciation dinner online even though we can't all be together we hope you feel all of the love coming your way this year has been particularly difficult for a certain group of people huggers we've missed giving our love and appreciation through hugging and receiving that love back so to fill this void we're going to hug other things so imagine that these things are you and we're giving you a big hug from all of us at the philanthropy and membership department we hope you've enjoyed this virtual hug we appreciate all of the dedicated volunteers that help out in our department and all of the volunteers throughout the whole organization we miss you we love you and we hope you're staying safe and healthy