MAHONING VALLEY Volunteers give veterans appreciation

Since 1992, local VA volunteers have donated 147,654 hours.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The caring and comfort and personal assistance that volunteers give to veterans at Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics are things that money can't buy, said David Jewel, Cleveland VA Medical Center spokesman.
The 278 adult volunteers and one youth volunteer out of the Youngstown VA Outpatient Clinic's Volunteer Services office donated 26,680 hours during the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2003.
The volunteers, representing 25 organizations, made 4,520 visits to the Youngstown, Warren and East Liverpool outpatient clinics during that period, said Robert M. Brienik, volunteer liaison.
Since the inception of Volunteer Services here in August 1992, volunteers have donated 147,654 hours, Brienik said.
The volunteers, most of whom are veterans themselves, were recognized for their efforts by VA officials at the annual Volunteer Awards Ceremony Thursday at Italian American Club Post 3. The awards were presented by William D. Montague, director of the Cleveland VA Medical Center.
Volunteers drive vets to VA hospitals and clinics, man telephones at the information desk, remind vets of upcoming medical appointments, file records, stuff and seal envelopes and assist VA employees in various departments in a variety of ways.
Significance
Volunteers do things that are not part of the VA budget and program and would otherwise not get done, said Edward Maurer, director of the Youngstown Clinic.
Two volunteers, Brienik and Flora Anderson, assistant volunteer liaison, accumulated 16,766 and 10,170 volunteer hours over the years, respectively, as of Sept. 30, 2003.
Two others, Helene Holeshuh, and Stephen Sepesy, had 6,507 and 6,746 volunteer hours, respectively.
"You can become discouraged, but when you see the vets waiting for attention, you know you are here for them, and you come back and sit down and go to work," said Brienik, who served in the Army Medical Corps from 1956 to 1958.
Usually, someone or something special got them interested in volunteering at the VA.
"The first day I was here, a supervisor said 'thank you.' That 'thank you' kept me here," said Brienik, who was in management at General Motors for 37 years, including at the Lordstown Assembly and Fabrication plants.
Anderson, of Niles, who is also a patient at the Youngstown Clinic, comes from a military family.
She was in the Army Medical Corps in 1969 and 1970; her father was career Air Force; and all of her siblings served in the Army or Air Force.
She said volunteering is a way of thanking her mother for giving her family to the military and thanking veterans, those alive and those who gave their lives, to keep America safe.
"One guy grabbed my hand and wouldn't let go," said Sepesy, when he was volunteering at the Butler, Pa., VA Clinic at Christmastime years ago.
"He said, 'You're the only visitor I've had this year,'" said Sepesy, who continues to volunteer.
What counts
Sepesy served with the Marine Corps in WWII in the South Pacific, including on Guadalcanal and in the occupation of Japan and China. He was a crane operator at Republic Steel's Bessemer Plant, and after the mill closed, he worked at the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority.
Sepesy, who volunteers Tuesdays and Fridays, operates the coffee cart, which was the first service provided at the inception of Volunteer Services in August 1992 at the Youngstown Clinic.
The main requisite to volunteer is to be able to get along with people, said Charlie Keel of Girard, who still sports a quiet Southern drawl from his native North Carolina. He married a woman from Niles he met while stationed at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna.
He spent six months in the Navy during WWII, 10 years in the Air Force, from 1951 to 1961, and retired from the Department of Defense in 1987, moving to Girard in 1991.
He began volunteering in 1992 mainly because his wife, who died in 1993, wanted to "get me out of the house. But, it grew on me. I enjoy working with the other volunteers and VA employees," said Keel, who volunteers three days a week three hours a day.
Holeshuh, the former Helene Guerriero, was born and reared in Youngstown. She enlisted in 1942 against the wishes of her fianc & eacute;, Frank, and became a member of the first contingent of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps.
Helene volunteers because she can't stand sitting at home and because her father was very active in veterans affairs. Helene is also the Ohio American Legion representative to the VA and as such disseminates money from the state organization to the VA.
It is not necessary to be a veteran to volunteer at the VA, and anyone interested in becoming a volunteer may call Brienik at (330) 740-9200 Ext. 1563.
"The main thing is we're all here for the vets," he said.
alcorn@vindy.com