By Our next nominee for the RSVP Volunteer Service Award is Anu Mittal.
In the short time Anu has been with RSVP, she has truly emulated what an AmeriCorps Seniors volunteer is by joining in on Group Service Projects, and offering her time and talents to not just one, but several of our nonprofit partners. Anu is quick to offer her assistance wherever the need is. She takes initiative, is a natural leader, and sincerely enjoys helping others.
The organizations Anu has served with in the last year include GrandInvolve, New Hope Housing and Shepherd’s Center of Northern Virginia.
At GrandInvolve, Anu has volunteer as a Virtual Tutor and Liaison for a local elementary school, as a friendly caller for Shepherd’s Center of Northern Virginia, and as a virtual mentor for New Hope Housing. As the pandemic hit, Anu was quick to transition from in-person to virtual, and even assisted GrandInvolve with planning and transitioning into a virtual tutoring model.
Sami Smyth of New Hope Housing said of Anu: “Anu volunteered at New Hope Housing’s emergency shelters during the pandemic, providing virtual employment assistance to guests looking for employment. Guests benefit from caring community members that help them on their journey, and we’re grateful that Anu worked with guests. She was patient and understanding, especially considering the constraints of virtual volunteering
Dorthy Keenan of GrandInvolve mentioned: “As GrandInvolve’s liaison, Anu Mittal has worked tirelessly to establish and grow a virtual volunteer relationship with multiple volunteers at Clearview Elementary. She coordinates the relationship between multiple classroom volunteers and is herself one of the classroom volunteers. The teacher she works with has glowing remarks about Anu and her other classroom assistants.”
At the start of the pandemic, Anu reached out to be a Friendly Caller at the Shepherd’s Center. Erin O’Reiley of Shepherd’s Center of Northern Virginia said, “She was aware that seniors were at high risk of contracting COVID so they would be sheltering in place which results in isolation. Anu is persistence, compassionate and easy to speak with. She communicated her correspondence with 2 seniors she had calls with weekly and described her interactions with them to me. She made a difference in our community by caring and showing kindness. She is an invaluable volunteer.”
We thank Anu for all that she has done. We are honored to have you serving as an AmeriCorps Seniors volunteer at RSVP-Northern Virginia.
