Volunteer of the Week: Louise Benoit

VOLUNTEER OF THE WEEK

Name: Louise Benoit

Age: 88

City: Olympia

Volunteer’s activities: Benoit volunteers at Animal Services. She also belongs to Sons of Norway, the American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary. Benoit is a World War II Navy veteran and has been volunteering since she was 18, starting with the Red Cross during World War II.

This volunteer is special because: “Animal Services is very excited to nominate Louise Benoit for this honor. She has been volunteering at the shelter for about 17 years. You may not know her name, but every time you drive by the shelter, you see her handiwork. Louise is our amazing gardener/landscaper who does such an incredible job of beautifying shelter grounds. We cannot begin to thank Louise for her thousands of hours of service to the shelter. Her energy, motivation and dedication are astounding,” said Chandra Mincher, education and volunteer coordinator for Animal Services.

Volunteering is important to this volunteer because: “There are a lot of things that need to be done for which there are no dollars available. There’s a lot people can do with their time to make it worthwhile for other people. I just can’t see doing nothing,” said Benoit.

Benoit will receive a plaque from the Volunteer Center and KGY Radio, courtesy of Deer Creek Awards, a division of Color Graphics.

This article was written by volunteer Julie Propp. The Volunteer Center provides volunteer services to people of all ages. If you would like to nominate a volunteer, call 360-741-2622, or download a nomination form at www.volunteer.ws.