By E.G. Merkel
“An organization, no matter how well designed, is only as good as the people who live and work in it,” according to Dee Hock. Activities and events at the JOY (Just Older Youth) Center run smoothly thanks to the many hours of work put in by staff and volunteers.
A small but growing team creates JOY each week.
Maria Uribe, program coordinator, and Bob Spencer, assistant program coordinator, orchestrate the flurry of activities on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. You cannot miss them in the mix, meeting, greeting and maneuvering among classes throughout each day.
Behind the scenes, during 2024, 30 volunteers logged 6,206 hours of time. If you consider that one year has 8,760 hours, that is a lot of time.
Teaching classes made up 582 hours of that time. Instructors choose to receive minimal compensation or volunteer their time. Of the current 11 instructors, six volunteer their time. Center support, those jobs that do not get noticed until they are not done, made up 2,504 of the total hours.
In the past year, the JOY board focused on communication (1,355 hours), finances (432 hours), fundraising (330 hours) and outreach (1003 hours). The newly-elected board will be focusing on fundraising, outreach and getting more volunteers to help the JOY Center grow.
Newly elected board members include John Cooper, president; Eva Merkel, vice president; Averil Kimble, secretary; Dawn Cale, treasurer; and Terry Willner-Tainow, Cary Reyes, Sammy Bleser and Dennis Caltagirone as at-large members.
The new advisory board includes Sara Reizen, Kay Morrow, Nadine Thompson, Judy O’Hara Vetrick, Delly Alexander and Denise Downing. Past service from exiting board and advisory members Jill Zima-Borski, Sara Marter, and Jerry O’Cathey is appreciated.
While the last in this series of articles will focus on finances, many organizations act as “JOY cheerleaders,” spreading the good news about what JOY offers to our seasoned citizens in the Upper Keys. Among the growing number of organizations bringing attention to the service JOY Center provides are the National Council on Aging, Alliance for Aging, Monroe County, Islamorada Village of Islands, Community Foundation of the Florida Keys, Ocean Reef Community Foundation, Monroe County Public Library, Islamorada Moose, Chapters Health Hospice, the Palace Group, Feeding South Florida, Island Air Control, Upper Keys Weekly, Origin Design & Media, Attention Media, Island Home, Centennial Bank. Peterson Companies, Marathon Bagel Company, DePaula Jewelers and Coldwell Banker Schmitt Real Estate Company.
Great things happen when people join to help each other. The dalai lama advises, “The root of happiness is altruism — the wish to be of service to others.” Those “creating JOY” each week certainly find happiness in that service.
