Gray Parks and Joan Wamsley are pictured with Kelly Lukschander (center), Volunteer Programs Coordinator at Greenspring. Photo contributed
Greenspring’s Gray Parks and Joan Wamsley are 2018 recipients of The President’s Volunteer Service Award for Lifetime Achievement. They were honored for contributing more than 4,000 hours of service in their lifetime.
The President's Volunteer Service Award is an initiative of the Corporation for National and Community Service and is administered by Points of Light. Through a shared mission of inspiring more to answer the call to service, the President's Volunteer Service Award celebrates the impact people can all make in bettering communities and the world.
- Parks uses his musical talents to give back to other Greenspring residents. Six years ago, he started doing a weekly show on the community’s closed circuit GSV-TV station, singing songs and playing guitar. He preps new songs each week that are usually framed around an artist’s birthday. Gray also co-leads an activity group called the “Greenspring Troubadours” where residents get together and play instruments and sing songs. When Gray isn’t serenading the residents of Greenspring, he is working as a member of the Resident Council. Gray also spends a lot of time volunteering at GSV-TV studio by running the camera.
- Wamsley uses her talents of knitting to help others at Greenspring. Joan spends hours a day knitting different things like socks that are sold to others in the community. The money from those sales goes to the community’s philanthropic funds. She also works at the community’s Treasure Chest Furniture Store. The Treasure Chest is Greenspring’s second-hand store, filled with donated items that are sold back to staff and residents. All the money from Treasure Chest sales goes to Greenspring philanthropic funds. Joan is also an active volunteer with her church.