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People tell Ron Sutton they admire him for giving so much to the community. After all, he was the instigator of Pleasanton’s Fourth of July celebration, the Ed Kinney Community Patriot awards, and ongoing Walk ‘n’ Talk outings on Saturday mornings, to name just a few of his contributions.
But Ron does not see himself as only a giver because he finds it so rewarding.
“People have said, ‘You’re nice for giving.’ And I said, ‘It makes me feel good. Isn’t that selfish?'” he said with a laugh.
He is not the only one to feel this way, he added. Time and time again, others tell him that they get more than they give when they volunteer.
Ron knows plenty about volunteers and volunteering — he heads up the local nonprofit group, Make a Difference, Today & Always, which each January puts on the Make a Difference for Pleasanton Volunteer Festival. The event gives residents of all ages a chance to look over volunteer opportunities, talk to those who work with nonprofit groups that use volunteers, and see what fits. The festival went online last year, due to the pandemic, and, alas, this year it has been canceled altogether.
“With the news of the latest surges in COVID illness, we have sadly concluded that it would be irresponsible for us to host an indoor event that attracts hundreds of people over four hours in mid-January,” emailed Jerri Long, who works with Ron on many community endeavors.
I talked to Ron and Jerri last weekend to learn more about the popular volunteer festival. They recalled that years ago they decided their goal was to help residents “get connected and stay connected,” and this became the motto of Make a Difference.
The first volunteer fest was held in October 2010. The organizers gathered representatives from volunteer organizations throughout the Tri-Valley to hold the event at the library, and it was so successful that it even spilled outside.
“I remember the debriefing,” Ron said. “We needed six tables in a circle to seat us all, and we had to scatter boxes of Kleenex around.”
Kleenex? To handle their tears as they shared with emotion everyone’s enthusiasm for making Pleasanton an even better place.
“An unexpected dividend was the organizations’ interaction, which was as important as the people coming in to sign up to volunteer,” Ron remembered. “They all found out what the other people were doing.”
They soon realized the weekend in October they’d chosen was also the Foothill High band review, a conflict for many residents, so they changed the date to January, near the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. This also is a time when people are thinking about how they may serve, Ron noted.
The festival grew in popularity, and in 2020 it moved to the roomier Pleasanton Senior Center and featured almost three dozen community service organizations. It also included safety and emergency preparedness displays and seminars.
“For me, it’s been really exciting and fun to see how creative people are in their ways to help others,” Jerri said. “Like Culinary Angels (which prepares meals for people fighting cancer) — what a wonderful thing to do.”
She also cited Loved Twice, which collects gently used baby clothing to redistribute. And Horses Helping Hearts, whose volunteers turn animal feed sacks into shopping bags for sale to benefit horse rescue operations.
Last year the Make a Difference festival was held online, but the format didn’t work well, Ron and Jerri agreed.
“It was a tight schedule — 13 different organizations did presentations,” Jerri said. “But it was not the same as when people get together.”
The idea now is to begin in September to plan for next year’s volunteer fest.
“I can’t emphasize enough that we really believe in service,” Ron said. “Everyone is a giver or a taker. And we want to provide givers.”
But he admits he is a giver and a taker because he finds giving so satisfying.
People who want to volunteer, of course, can always go looking for opportunities on their own although a pandemic may not be the best time for this. Hopefully, in 2023 the Make a Difference Volunteer for Pleasanton Festival will be back in all its heartwarming glory.
Editor’s note: Dolores Fox Ciardelli is Tri-Valley Life editor for the Pleasanton Weekly. Her column, “Valley Views,” appears on the second and fourth Fridays of each month.
