COVID-delayed for a year, Samuels Library’s co-sponsored ‘Volunteer Fair’ kicks off inaugural annual event

Royal Examiner spoke to Samuels Public Library Executive Director Michelle Ross near the conclusion of the Volunteer Fair of community organizations held Saturday, May 14. Ross explained that after an initial cancellation due to an untimely spike in COVID-19 variant cases last year, the first of what is hoped to be many annual Volunteer Fairs has been launched under a joint sponsorship of Samuels Public Library, The Wednesday Group, and C-CAP.

“I am a member of The Wednesday Group, and the idea of The Volunteer Fair actually came about last year. The Wednesday Group was chatting about how so many of our non-profits were struggling to get volunteers back after COVID. And we had this great idea of what if we got them all together and were able to let people come and find out about all the wonderful organizations where they can help out here in Warren County,” Ross explained.

“Unfortunately, last year, there was a spike in COVID, so we did have to cancel. But we were able to host it this year, and we had about 20 organizations show up and participate, promote themselves” in seeking to regain that volunteer momentum, Ross said of what appeared to be a successful inaugural event.

The trio of sponsoring groups were set up at, or very near, the entrance to Saturday’s Volunteer Fair. From right to left, The Wednesday Group (TWG), Friends Of Samuels Library (FOSL), and over the shoulders of the FOSL reps and below, C-CAP. And the event was not held underwater as the ceiling decorations from a previous event may have indicated. Royal Examiner Photos by Roger Bianchini

Set up right next to the Friends Of Samuels Library (FOSL) at the entrance to the event room was The Wednesday Group (TWG) table manned by two familiar, if masked, faces, Jeff Browne and Jim Wolfe, one day after a big announcement from their work with the new WC EDA Board of Directors.

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We asked them about The Wednesday Group and its partnership with Samuels Library and C-CAP on the day’s event. “Our focus has always been on unmet needs in the county. And one of the needs that we identified was that we need more volunteers to be working with things in the county to help people,” Browne observed, adding, “And so the genesis of The Volunteer Fair was to give people an opportunity to see the vibrant things that are going on in the county and give them an opportunity to get involved. Because a lot of people want to do things but don’t know where to go.

“Well, this is the place to do it. And we’ll start doing this on a regular basis every year. And we think we can grow this – it’s our ‘community garden,’ and it will grow over time. So, we’re excited about it.”

WC Chamber of Commerce rep Niki Foster Cales reminds us the also COVID-resurrected downtown Front Royal Wine & Crafts Festival is on the horizon, this coming Saturday, May 21.

Coming in about 20 minutes from the 1 PM ending time, we asked how attendance had been throughout the day. “Yea, it was solid,” Wolfe observed, noting the one-year delay due to the COVID spike. “So, we were all set to do it last year and probably correctly decided the COVID situation was just too risky at that point. So this being the first one, we had a good, solid turnout …

“Another thing I noticed that I didn’t even anticipate was that the volunteer organizations don’t normally talk to one another. Yet here was a time they could go around, talk to each other and begin to build those relationships,” Wolfe added with a nod towards one of the goals of The Wednesday Group (TWG). “And really that’s what TWG does, we do a lot of networking, we do some fundraising. And we’re trying to make the county a better place to live in.”

The Warren Coalition has a long track record of provision of volunteer services to this community.

The ARC of Warren County, sponsor of local Special Olympics, can also help families run the maze of accessing special needs assistance available to them thru various agencies.

And never forget we’re all only an unexpected moment away from a needed response from County Emergency Services – and volunteers are crucial in many of those responses.

The Salvation Army of FR is another familiar face on the local volunteer services front.

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And we seem to have come full circle back to our entry point at the FOSL and TWG tables. Always remember, you don’t have to be a fossil to be a FOSL. But speaking of underwater decorations, how do I get back to shore?