BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS Pictured in no particular order are the Clinton County Commissioners Anegla Harding, Jim Russo and Jeff Snyder with Cathy Ballat, RSVP Program Coordinator in Clinton County and AmeriCorps Seniors Retired & Seniors Volunteer Program (RSVP) volunteers Paul Ballat, Paula Bell, Angela Black, Rich and Lisa Jo Grieb, Mike Hubbard and Elsa Winch.

LOCK HAVEN — The Clinton County Commissioners recently proclaimed April 20 through April 26, 2025 as volunteer week.

Volunteer week is celebrated nationally as a time to express gratitude for those who selflessly donate their time to local and non-local causes.

AmeriCorps Seniors Retired & Seniors Volunteer Program (RSVP) is a program where volunteers serve countless volunteer hours, supporting thousands of organizations nationally every year.

The program provides opportunities for volunteers in their communities and opportunities to foster friendships while they engage in fulfilling activities — promoting a sense of purpose and well-being.

Cathy Ballat, RSVP Program Coordinator in Clinton County, recently attended a Clinton County Commissioners meeting to speak about the program.

“It is our pleasure to recognize and celebrate the positive community impact made by dedicated volunteers in the five counties of our Retired and Seniors Volunteer Program, including Clinton County,” said Ballat.

The primary focus of their program is environmental stewardship. Their goal is to care for the natural environment through maintaining local gardens, parks, trails and streams.

RSVP Program volunteers have assisted in numerous events throughout Clinton County, including assisting the Clinton County Conservation District through their annual tree sale, CleanScapes Electronic Recycle events and Roadside Cleanups, the Envirothon and the Farm-City Festival.

Volunteers also maintain the grounds of the Conservation District, and the pollinator gardens around the properties.

Several of the program’s volunteers have assisted the Dogwood Circle Garden Club with maintaining their gardens at Triangle Park and around the Soldiers and Sailors monument.

In 2024, local volunteer Paula Bell had the idea to rejuvenate the overgrown gardens at Roads to Peace in Lock Haven.

“This project resulted in a lovely garden for the enjoyment of Roads to Peace staff, clients and the public as it contributed to beautifying the Triangle Park section of the city,” said Ballat.

Bell also spoke about her time volunteering with the program and how she got involved.

“After working for 43 years in corporate America and then higher education, I wanted to do something that didn’t involve doing what I’ve been doing for 43 years — something I wanted to do and not something I had to do,” she said.

She spoke about how in 2022, she was helping the Conservation District keep their vegetable garden fresh and growing during a drought. While there, she was asked if she’d ever heard of RSVP. She met with the director at that time and got signed up.

She kept up with the pollinator and vegetable gardens at the Conservation District, and eventually had the opportunity to work with Lynn Bitner Beach Creek/Marsh Creek (Heritage) Museum where she helped to splice archival videos of interviews with past students of the Beech Creek Elementary School.

Bell also spoke about the Roads to Peace entrance garden makeover. The plants outside of Roads to Peace include native perennial pollinator plants and was generously funded by Bell and fellow RSVP volunteer, Shonah Hunter. RSVP volunteers, Paul Ballat and Jenny Boyle, also contributed to the weeding and planting of the garden. Ginny Counsil, Master Gardener with Penn State Extension, donated two purple mallow plants from her personal garden.

“When I saw the big bushes that were growing up around the Roads to Peace entrance, (I thought) people could be hiding behind those bushes. If a client whose coming is seeking help from Roads to Peace, and they saw this mess, they might think ‘I wonder what it looks like inside’ and they might have second thoughts,” said Bell.

RSVP volunteers recently participated in building beds for children with the Sleep in Heavenly Peace organization and assisted at the Financial Reality Fair sponsored by Career Link for students at Central Mountain High School.

“Our volunteers also serve the community in additional capacities, including tutoring adult learners with the Central Intermediate Unit-10, assisting the Beach Creek/Marsh Creek Heritage Museum, and County Maintenance Office, as well as helping with a variety of other impactful community endeavors. Very soon, our program hopes to partner with the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank in providing monthly food deliveries to home-bound seniors,” said Ballat.

In honor of Martin Luther King Day this past January, local RSVP volunteers contributed generous donations to Roads to Peace, and several volunteers and partner organizations wrote letters and cards to residents in an assisted living facility to help combat loneliness.

Todd Warner, Clinton County Director of Veterans Affairs, shared his experience with the volunteers as well.

Two of the volunteers in attendance, Angela Black and Elsa Winch, have been outstanding volunteers for the Veterans Affairs Office, according to Warner.

“Ang and Elsa are all about being generous and doing everything they can to provide service. When you come into our office or you answer the phone in our office, you don’t know who may walk in the door, or who may be on the other end of the phonecall. They’ve been invaluable to us,” he said.

According to Warner, they have done a fantastic job organizing and drafting death letters.

“We usually get a couple a week — whether it’s a veteran or the veteran’s widow has passed away. This county does a tremendous job taking care of getting the county-level benefits to the survivors. These two volunteers have done a great job of keeping that folder and file clean,” he said.

Black has also taught Warner some skills in accounting, which he says has made him become a “semi-expert.”

Volunteers Winch and Paul Ballat have also cataloged thousands of cans and boxes of food that have been donated by the boyscouts. Winch and Black also screen calls to make it easier to take care of the highest priority issues.

“No matter what it is, (the volunteers) take care of it. They have tremendous awareness of human needs. Both have a great sense of the urgency or non-urgency of what’s on the other end of the phone call. They screen dozens and dozens of calls for us. They’re all about keeping everything accurate, and taking care of veterans and their families. We couldn’t ask for two more compassionate people to do what they do,” said Warner

“Anyone who wants to make a difference, feel better about themselves and meet new people, this is a great opportunity for you,” said Bell.

To learn more about the local Diakon/AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP, you may contact Cathy Ballat, Volunteer Coordinator, at 570-419-5941 or ballatc@diakon.org