Volunteers of the YMCA of the Seacoast positively impact those in their community, whether they are nurturing the potential of children and teens, improving the health and well-being of families, or giving support to neighbors. Volunteers at the Y take an active role in bringing about meaningful, enduring change, right in their own neighborhoods. It is because of Susan Riffert’s active role as this type of volunteer that she is the Y’s 2013 recipient of the chairman’s award.
Susan Riffert volunteers her time and talents to keeping the gardens at the YMCA of the Seacoast and Camp Gundalow looking beautiful. This year she added vegetables to the gardens at camp. Susan also helped to secure a $300 grant from the Portsmouth Garden Club for the upkeep of the Y’s gardens and the vegetable gardens at the camp.
More than just gardening, Susan has also donated her time to other improvements at the Y. At Camp Gundalow, Susan and her family not only repainted the picnic tables and chairs, but they also painted a beautiful and fun mural in the arts and crafts cabin. Her planning and prepping of other events for Healthy Kids Day and the Halloween Party and Haunted Walk at camp Gundalow have been vital to the success of those events. Susan helped plan the theme days at camp this summer and ran the arts and crafts projects as well. Susan has helped us with program planning and implementation, providing recipes for no-cook cooking and gardening projects. Susan’s commitment to the YMCA of the Seacoast mission is evident by the campers who are able to enjoy the gardens at Camp Gundalow.
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Other 2013 award recipients included Hannah Dufresne, and Libby Sheppard as youths of the year, Denise and Stephen Langley for volunteers of the year, Doug Ewing, Gail Houle, and Coleen Penacho received the chairman’s award, and community service awards went to Albany International and Hesson & Pare, CPAs.
