Milligan receives volunteer award recognition given in honor of her work with the homeless
Posted: Wednesday, November 12, 2008 12:00 am
By Ryan Rudnansky
Healdsburg Tribune
Posted: Wednesday, November 12, 2008 12:00 am
By Ryan Rudnansky
Healdsburg Tribune
Reflecting on receiving the 2008 Marie Sparks Memorial Volunteer Award, Healdsburg resident Yvonne Milligan said “it was difficult.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t accept the award. Milligan just has never been one to draw attention to herself. The award, given out every year by the Selection Committee since 1995 in honor of former Healdsburg resident Marie Sparks, recognizes residents of Healdsburg that strive to help the community. Milligan, who knew Sparks for many years, received the award this year for her “long and tireless commitment to serving Healdsburg’s needy and homeless residents.” “I think what she does with people in need, it was a thing that was really attractive to us,” said Selection Committee board member Cassie Call, a longtime friend of Milligan’s and the recipient of the award last year. “She does it in a very quiet way, that’s another thing that was very impressive with Yvonne. She’s not in the spotlight. She’s not there to take the awards. I was talking to her daughter-in-law and she said, ‘(Yvonne) doesn’t even tell us that she does it.’ That’s what makes a person, to me, very special because (they) know there’s a need and (they) try to fulfill it.” Milligan’s volunteer work is extensive. She has worked with: Shared Ministries providing food and other services since the 1970s, Father Bowers of St. Paul’s on numerous projects and programs to serve the homeless and needy, North County Community Services (a project of St. Paul’s that provides shelter and housing for the needy), and Season of Sharing to help the needy with rent and utility bills. Milligan also housed a single mother with five children who were victims of Hurricane Katrina, established a scholarship for high school seniors with special needs, helped establish Victory Apartments next to St. Paul’s, and served as a surrogate grandmother to many needy children in the community throughout the years. Milligan is currently the secretary of Trust Your Heart Foundation, an organization that promotes awareness of mental health issues, and continues to work with North County Community Services. “I guess I approach it that there are things that are in the community that need to happen and you just go in and do the work,” Milligan said. Call broke the news of the award to Milligan at a dinner they had together before Milligan was recognized at a city council meeting in early October. Call said Milligan “was totally flabbergasted.” “When you work in the community you don’t think about people noticing,” Milligan said. “It was pretty much a surprise when I was approached by (Cathy).” Milligan was quick to turn attention away from herself and pointed out that “when you have broad-based support” from the community and the volunteer staff, “it makes it easy.” Milligan also said she’s always been impressed with the needy individuals she helps. “It’s hard enough to raise a family when you have an income and a house and a spouse to help you,” she said. “Some of these people are so brave. Some of them are doing this all on their own. They just persevere and they help their families and they just keep going. They’re very brave. It’s just amazing. That kind of integrity and hard work is commendable.” Milligan said her dedication in helping the community comes from inside her and is something that has always been an intrinsic trait ever since she used to clean the classrooms as a student at her elementary school because there was no janitor. “It’s just part of who I am,” Milligan said. “I just did it. I didn’t expect any reward.” “The reward,” she added, “is the connection that you make with the people you serve. They’re so thankful and grateful for the help.” Milligan said she would be thankful and grateful if the attention surrounding the award prompted the community to pitch in. “If it encourages other people to jump in and help out, I’m happy to receive the award,” she said. |