CASSOPOLIS — Despite a winter storm warning Tuesday morning, many Cass County Council on Aging volunteers showed up to the Lowe Center in Cassopolis to eat their fill of eggs, sausages and waffles.

The COA hosted its annual volunteer appreciation breakfast that morning. The event invited COA volunteers to enjoy a free meal as a way to say thank for the work that they do during the year.

“We do this every year to thank our volunteers for all their hard work and for supporting us like they do,” said COA volunteer coordinator Leslie Vargo. “Clearly, they still support us, even in this awful weather.”

Currently, the COA has around 140 active volunteers. Each month, those volunteers save the COA between 14 and 15 full time employees
each month, with all the volunteers putting in 2,200  to 2,500 hours total, according to Vargo. 

Volunteers are important to the COA because they ensure that the organization’s many programs, which enrich the lives of senior citizens in Cass County, are run smoothly, Vargo said.

“Without them, we couldn’t do what we do. It’s very important for us,” she said. “All our programs, they are successful [because of volunteers].”

Several volunteers who attended the special breakfast said they were appreciative for the “thank you” the COA was giving to them, but that they didn’t volunteer their time to receive praise. Instead, they said they volunteered because they believe in the COA’s mission.

Virginia Kraft has volunteered twice a week at the COA for 10 years. Kraft volunteers with the quilting and knitting projects at the COA, and said she enjoys helping as it gives her something to do that has a social element.

“I like the camaraderie and sociability,” Kraft said. “You get to meet people and talk to them, which is nice. I also get a sense of accomplishment.”

Shirley Guilford is one of the COA’s newer volunteers, having started working at the front desk in October. She said volunteering is how she gives back to the COA, which she feels is an important organization in the community.

“I’m here all the time. I use the facilities almost everyday for exercise,” she said. “It’s kind of like a payback.”

Both Kraft and Guilford said they plan to continue to volunteer with the COA for a long time.

“[The COA] is great and important to Cass County,” Guilford said. “I’m proud to volunteer and be part of it.”