A salute to Long Island volunteers
by Robert Mitchell
Marie Ange Alexandre and David Desrossier, who are active at the Westbury, N.Y., Corps, each took home a prestigious honor on Oct. 10 during The Salvation Army of Nassau County’s 43rd Salute to Volunteers.
Alexandre and Desrossier both won the “Volunteer of the Year” award at a dinner attended by Commissioners G. Lorraine and William A. Bamford and 200 others at Westbury Manor. Alexandre has been active for more than a decade, while Desrossier has put in two decades serving food and organizing Christmas programming.
“Without you, we wouldn’t be able to serve families through our food pantries, soup kitchens, after school programs and so much more,” read a post on the Greater New York Division’s Facebook page. “Your contribution means the world to us, and New Yorkers’ lives are made better because of your choice to volunteer in our programs.”
Among those honored with certificates were several Long Island–based Kiwanis chapters, including the Kiwanis Club of North Shore; Youth for Christ; Amazon; Chase Bank; Dantona Industries; and Rebecca Marie and Daniella Victoria Arroyo.
Macy’s Vice President Charles Abt received a special thanks for providing backpacks, clothes, accessories, toys, and jackets over the years.
The Westbury Youth Band provided entertainment for the night.
The Nassau County Advisory Board hosted the event. Major Soo Kim, the corps officer in Hempstead, N.Y., and Nassau County coordinator who organized the event, outlined the services The Salvation Army provides to its needy neighbors—something that couldn’t be done without volunteers.
“We are seeking to experience a hopeful tomorrow and we are committed to repeating all of this again and to do it even better and to make improvements along the journey,” Kim said.
Kim noted that volunteers will be sought immediately for the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and closed by saying, “Will you come alongside us and join us in the journey to exist as a resource of light to our neighbors?”
