MAHONING VALLEY Officials honor top volunteerfor efforts

The North Lima woman said she doesn't need awards; she just wants to focus on her goal of helping people.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR HEALTH WRITER
NORTH LIMA -- Edna Gillam doesn't want much. Just your time, your energy, your money and your talent and maybe the use of your van.
Gillam admits people sometimes probably get the urge to run when they see her coming, but in the end, she often gets what she's after: help for someone in need.
"My legislators all know me. When I call, they reach for the Tylenol," she said, laughing.
Her doggedness and caring nature have made her a volunteer extraordinaire and 2002 Ohio Volunteer of the Year, a title given by the Ohio Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
She was to be in Dayton today to accept the award, which she said upset her at first. She was nominated by NASW Region IV (Youngstown Region).
"I don't need plaques. God is the only person who needs to know," she groused.
She was also chosen as NASW's Region IV 2002 Volunteer of the Year and will be recognized by the Mahoning County Board of Commissioners for her efforts.
Background: Gillam, 49, of North Lima, is the daughter of a steel worker and a waitress. She grew up on Erie Street on Youngstown's South Side and graduated in 1971 from South High School.
She gets the volunteer habit honestly. Her family helped neighbors and she was a "lead" for blind students at South.
She and her husband, Lee, have taught their five children the volunteer spirit by involving them in family projects.
For instance, last summer they cleaned up grave sites at Wieland Cemetery off Market Street; and improved, in her words, "that ugly little triangle" at Western Reserve Road and Market Street.
"The state wanted us to fill out a 20-page form," she said. Instead, on two successive weekends at night, they lifted and leveled the millstone there and planted flowers.
Their five children are not the only kids who have lived in the Gillam home. They brought others home for dinner and they just stayed, she said.
Gillam estimated the number of extended family at more than 30. Some of them still get together once a month to play board games, she said.
Involvement: Some of the organizations and causes that Gillam is involved in are the Challenger Division of Little League Baseball, South Range Ruritan Club, Gleaners Food Bank, Kinship Care and a campaign she started to write letters to military personnel when her son was in the Army.
This year, because letters to military personnel were not encouraged after Sept. 11, she turned her attention to patients in veterans hospitals. She started with her family and the Mahoning County Joint Vocational School students, involved numerous other school districts, and ended up delivering 7,200 Christmas cards to veterans.
"The reason why we volunteer to do things is because either we've been there or know someone who has," she said. She's not exaggerating.
Taking action: A few years ago, their house burned down. Her response: Start a support group for victims of fire.
She was injured on the job. "No one told me anything," she said. Now, she is Columbiana County coordinator for Ohioans Helping Injured Ohioans.
"I direct them to resources [mainly housing and medications] and help them through the shadowlands of depression," she said.
Gillam has children with special needs, hence her involvement in Challenger Baseball. She also works in the areas of child support and child custody, domestic violence and elder abuse.
She does a lot of free-lancing. "A lot of times in organizations, your hands are tied by rules and regulations and there are egos involved," she said.
When asked why people should get involved, she responded: "We just want people to know that all of us can make a difference in each others' lives, for the good. One kind act might tap into someone's potential.
"You get such a good feeling: Pass it along, to help make it a positive effect on the future.
"I have seen this country come together in times of crisis and move mountains. Why can't we do it all the time?" she asked.
Gillam said she has four basic rules for volunteering: Do it for free with a glad and joyful heart; pass on what you learn; don't do anything illegal; and don't do the legwork that the recipients can do.
alcorn@vindy.com