United Way honors local residents for volunteerism
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

Unitil's George Gantz presented plaques on behalf of Community Builders to Ron Ledger of Leominster, Susan Roser of Ashburnham, Lisa Martel of Shirley, Kathleen Haskell of Leominster and John Flick of Gardner for their volunteer service at United Way of North Central Masschusetts' Day of Caring and Campaign Kickoff event on Sept. 20 at the Four Points Sheraton in Leominster. COURTESY PHOTO

An Ashburnham resident was honored by the United Way and Mount Wachusett Community College for her work in the community during the Day of Caring events.

Susan Roser, of Ashburnham, is on the board of directors for the Charitable Foundation of the North Central Massachusetts Association of Realtors (NCMAR) and is business partner for a non-profit group formed to provide a variety of services to the community.

She was one of five people recognized for giving back to the community with their time and talents by Community Builders, a partnership between United Way, Mount Wachusett Community College and Ashoka to promote community involvement.

The other four people who were honored were Ron Ledger, of Leominster, an all-around volunteer who has been instrumental in helping Habitat for Humanity build homes; John Flick, of Gardner, president and board of directors for the Gardner VNA; Kathleen A. Haskell, of Leominster, chapter president of the Worcester County National Education Assistance Dog Service (NEADS); and Lisa Martel, of Shirley, a volunteer with Loaves & Fishes.

The United Way of North Central Massachusetts brought over 500 volunteers together for the 12th Annual Day of Caring. During the Day of Caring, teams of employees from local business, including the Westminster based companies Simplex-Grinnell and Aubouchon Hardware, sent teams to work for local non-profits throughout the north central region of Massachusetts.

According to Rich Palmer, chair of the Day of Caring and executive director of the Montachusett Area YMCA, the individuals volunteer for the day to help over 50 non-profits fix, repair and spruce up their facilities.

"As a nonprofit, the value of what these volunteers provide is immense. The majority of these projects would never get done due to limited resources and staff," he said.

The day-long event got started with a rally to launch United Way's annual campaign drive, which raises money through corporate donations and employee contributions for local health and human service programs.

Scott Howard, chair of the organization, said they are seeking to raise an additional $200,000 in Community IMPACT Funds.

"Our annual campaign is critical to creating change in our community," Howard said.

In addition, Community Builders awarded four Fellows to area residents who have creative ideas about how to get others involved to build a stronger community. Fellow recipients receive coaching, networking opportunities and a financial stipend to turn their plan into action.

The Community Builders also recently honored 25 different volunteers from North Central Massachusetts for their work on various projects focused on improving the community including Kim Caisse of Ashburnham, Steven E. Slocum of Ashburnham and Evelyn Giammalvo of Westminster.

Caisse has been working with the United Way and ARC to create a community garden at her Ashburnham home.