Linda Ragsdale goes into the Fairfax County Jail every week to work with individuals who, she says, are often thought of as hopeless cases. She does it because they need a friend just as much as any other struggling group in society.
"It’s a part of the population people generally don’t want to help," said Ragsdale, a Springfield resident.
She is a friend to the inmates because of her volunteer work with Opportunities, Alternatives and Resources, or OAR, of Fairfax County. The non-profit, which focuses on breaking the crime cycle by providing resources to prisoners and their families, was one of many organizations and individuals recognized at the annual Fairfax County Volunteer Service Awards, Tuesday, April 24.
Volunteer Fairfax, a 32-year-old nonprofit that helps mobilize volunteers to meet community needs, hosted its first awards ceremony in 1993. The organization has recognized more than 1,300 individuals since then, with more than 100 winners this year. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors paired up with Volunteer Fairfax to select one of 13 award categories this year, the Community Champions. Nine winners, one for each of the county’s districts, took home an award for their dedication to improving life in the county and beyond, according to Volunteer Fairfax.
"[Community Champions] continue to spread the good work among their peers and colleagues about the importance of encouraging community service," said Karen Fitzgibbon, president of the Volunteer Fairfax board of directors.
More than 100 volunteers were recognized for the Benchmark Award, a new category this year recognizing volunteers who gave at least 250 or 500 hours of service to their nominating agency. It is people like the community champions who encourage those around them to also contribute, she said.
"You can’t have a healthy business in an unhealthy community," said Robert Goodwin, keynote speaker and chairman and CEO of the Points of Light Foundation and Volunteer Center National Network.
In the age of technology, Goodwin said people are more frequently isolating themselves from society. The Internet and other technologies create a social disconnect, he said, but volunteers have the ability to reconnect society.
Palmer Foley, the youth volunteer winner from Reston, said volunteering has never seemed like a chore. "It just seemed like something natural," he said.
"Volunteers help to build infrastructure in the material realm, and infrastructure in the social realm as well," said Goodwin.
Building that infrastructure is an unselfish way to make a difference in other peoples’ lives, said Foley. And giving service to the community allows volunteers to send an important message, said Goodwin. "Your life does matter," he said.
THAT’S EXACTLY what Ragsdale tries to do with her volunteer work. She said it’s important to give people another chance, and volunteers have the ability to do that, she said. While volunteer work is not always glamorous, said Derek McGinty, the service awards’ master of ceremonies and a Channel 9 news anchor, it does "bring together all sectors of our community."
"Each and every thing that a volunteer does can make a big difference," he said.
This year’s winners made differences in education, music, animal rescue, sexual assaults, hunger, homelessness and parenting, to name a few. In a room full of volunteers who logged more than 110,000 hours of community service — the equivalent of a $2 million cash donation — McGinty said others should not be discouraged by the long hours put in by some volunteers.
"It’s important to recognize that you don’t have to be a superhero to do this," said McGinty. "Maybe you only have an hour or two a week; don’t let the fact that somebody can do so much stop you from doing anything."