We are ecstatic to announce that the United Way of Tri-County recognized a youth member and a volunteer from the Youth Center at their annual “Everyday Heroes” recognition breakfast held on Thursday, April 5th at the Framingham Sheraton Hotel. Darlene Dulude was a finalist for the Volunteer of the Year Award and Sebastian Soares was a finalist for the Youth Volunteer of the Year Award for the MetroWest/495 Corridor!
We nominated Darlene because she truly has become such a vital member of our Program and has become somewhat of a “Mother Hen’ to all of our staff members here at the Center. We got to know Darlene slowly at first through our relationship with her husband, John, who volunteered at the Center and was former recipient of this award! As a result of this, Darlene decided to see if she would have the same passion towards the Center, like her husband. What started at first as a one hour volunteer shift each week has grown into multiple volunteer roles and contributions.
Darlene currently volunteers 3 hours each week to assist our Youth Center staff for our free after school programs that include: Arts & Crafts, Nutrition and sewing. These are some of our most popular programs during the After School program and my staff quite frankly would not be able to allow as many kids in the program without her assistance!
Darlene also volunteers at all of our monthly events and annual fundraisers. Darlene is also researching healthy recipes for nutrition and fun craft ideas on Pinterest to help with program ideas. She is always taking pictures for us and then spending the days she is not volunteering at the Center making collages of the different programs for us to then share on our MYC social media pages, which then in turn helps promote our programs and leverage more support from the community and increase in attendance. Darlene also volunteers during the Milford Summer Food Service Program, which the Youth Center was one of the three areas in town that youth and their families could come in for a free lunch. Darlene has volunteered with us for the last two years now and put in over 300 hours each year through the programs and events she assists us with! Due to this dedication and her passion towards helping the Center, we believe Darlene was the perfect candidate for this award!
Sebastian Soares has impacted the Milford Youth Center immensely. He inspires every person he meets. He is a member of the MYC Youth Council, a volunteer group of youth that meets every Wednesday at 4:00pm. Sebastian has volunteered at a variety of events with the group. He has also put time and effort into making nametags for the group voluntarily. Sebastian is always ready to help with a smile on his face. He is kind and courteous even if others are not. That is impressive in itself, but what is even more impressive is that Sebastian maintains volunteerism and positivity even through consistent pain. A few years ago, Sebastian was diagnosed with Small Fiber Neuropathy. It is a disease categorized by sharp, consistent pain in his extremities and in some cases including his own, his entire body. This condition he has leaves him feeling physically uncomfortable but his great attitude and generosity persists. During one outdoor event, Sebastian was beginning to feel very hot. Feeling hot is a symptom of his condition. Instead of sitting back and taking a breather, Sebastian insisted he continue his volunteerism but with his shoes off in order to cool down. Another extraordinary display of Sebastian’s determination and strength was when he was hospitalized. While Sebastian was hospitalized, he insisted upon joining the youth council meeting via FaceTime or video chat.
His peers were truly inspired and moved by his devotion. In addition, on the same day he was released from the hospital, he had to attend his grandfather’s funeral service. Right after being discharged from the hospital and attending his grandfather’s funeral service, he made his way to the Milford Youth Center to support his peers at the Find Yourself Friday youth event. He was ready to help though he was not feeling his best. Sebastian has demonstrated the true meaning of service. He is willing to go out of his own way to help others around him. We are so grateful for Sebastian at the center! For more about Sebastian and his battle with Erythromelalgia (EM), click on this HuffPost article that he was featured in. For the video of his recognition, click here.
Both Darlene and Sebastian have done so much to help the Youth Center and the community! We are so grateful to the United Way of Tri-Country for recognizing Darlene and Sebastian for their hard work! Congrats!