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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Volunteers honored by Ely Northwoods Partners

Keith Vandervort
Posted 8/31/22

ELY – “Ely is a better place because of the hard work and time our volunteers dedicate to the older adults in our community.”Those words were spoken by Lisa Porthan, executive …

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Volunteers honored by Ely Northwoods Partners

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ELY – “Ely is a better place because of the hard work and time our volunteers dedicate to the older adults in our community.”
Those words were spoken by Lisa Porthan, executive director of Northwoods Partners recently as she recognized the organization’s volunteers at a recent picnic to celebrate their service. “We are so grateful for everything that you do,” she said.
At the heart of Northwoods Partners is a team of 80-plus volunteers who support the Ely community’s seniors by providing transportation to appointments, making friendly visits, providing telephone assurance, celebrating birthdays, helping with shopping, and more. “They all do whatever it takes to brighten the lives of our area seniors,” Porthan added.
Northwoods Partners volunteers include students, working folks and retired folks, men and women, those who have unlimited time to volunteer and those that have just a few hours a month to give.  “The one thing they all have in common is that they care about our seniors,” Porthan said.
Each year two volunteers are chosen to receive special recognition as the Heart of Gold Award winners. This year’s recipients are Linda Fink and Sally Moose. “Linda Fink has spent over twenty years creating beautiful items for our Festival of Trees boutique as well as items for silent auction,” Porthan said. “She helps recruit other boutique contributors and collects and organizes all the contributions.  She also shares her talents and time with our theme dinner each year. She is a vital part of our fundraising event committee, and is a joy to work with.?
Sally Moose is in her 10th year volunteering for Northwoods Partners. “She spends many hours each week at Carefree Living helping provide social events such as Bingo and crafts,” Porthan said. “She is happy to be a part of the lives of our area’s seniors, and shares her warm smile and great hugs with all she meets.”
According to Porthan, Every one of the Northwoods Partners volunteers has some special gift to share. “A friendly visit, a ride to the beauty shop, picking up groceries, a chat on the phone; it really doesn’t take much to add some cheer to a senior’s life.  If you’d like to volunteer, Northwoods Partners knows several seniors who would be thrilled to meet you,” she said.
For more information on volunteering email info@NorthwoodsPartners.org or call 218-365-8019.