CLEVELAND — So many of our great charitable institutions would not exist without dedicated volunteers; especially, seniors, who give generously of their time and life experiences to help non-profits reach their full potential.
This year, Medical Mutual is honoring those "outstanding" seniors. One of them, is Ellen Mattingly.
As a girl on her grandparent's farm in Kentucky, you'd probably find Ellen lost in a world of words.
"There was a wonderful, huge tree, 'the climbing tree,' we called it. And, I would take my books up into the tree and read," Ellen told us. "I think what books do and what certainly, it did for me, is it teaches you that your life is not limited to what you see around you."
That kind of openness guided Ellen to her calling of helping others.
"My original goal in life was to be an elementary school teacher. And I found that human resources was much the same. Just, the kids were bigger," Ellen said.
After a successful career in HR, Ellen wasn't finished giving back. But she didn't have to go far: She found inspiration right here at home.
"I've never, ever seen a place that had such a commitment to caring for others as Cleveland does," Ellen said.
A city that opened a children's book bank just five years ago. The rest, they say, wrote itself.
"I heard about the book bank; I had met one of the founders at a social event. I volunteered a few times, and felt really called to the mission because books were such an important part of my growing up," Ellen said.
The staff recognized her dedication and passion right away.
"She really cares about everybody. She really cares for us, the staff and, of course, the other volunteer," said Colleen Watt, operations director of the Kids' Book Bank.
"When they asked me to participate, really heavily participate, be on the board and help them hire people and stuff, I was like, 'oh, that's great... No, I can't do that!" Ellen said laughing. "And then when I sat and talked to them, this is a concept you just can't say no to."
That's because the book bank distributes 30,000 books per month to kids in need.
"Without the ability to read and connect and be empathetic and understand stories and understand people, all of which you get from books, I think kids grow up at a loss," Ellen said.
As a senior volunteer, Ellen feels she and her colleagues bring something special to the table.
"Each of us has not only our life experience to call on, but we have greater flexibility and understanding," Ellen said. "The joy of understanding what these books mean to children ... it's just so amazing to get that. It gives me goosebumps now to think about it. So, I think seniors have a lot that they can give."
If you know of an amazing volunteer in our community -- you can nominate them for this prestigious award.
Submissions are open through June 17th. Click HERE to nominate someone.