ROSENDALE – We celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. this weekend, and Saturday, there was an honoring of civic activism by ordinary people.
“We are celebrating the volunteers of Ulster County,” said Nancy Pompeo, a board member of UlsterCorps.
Pompeo was outside, under a tent, waiting for cars, so she could help with the distribution of goodie bags to qualified volunteers in the county.
“Our role here in the county is to promote volunteerism and connect volunteers to all the different agencies and non-profit organizations to get people more involved in the community,” she said.
It was the 12th annual celebration of volunteers, and it was taking place during a drive-through in the parking lot of the Rosendale Recreation Center. In previous years, when a viral pandemic did not turn social events into deadly super-spreaders, the celebration was conducted inside the recreation center.
“We bring everybody together, celebrate with food and music and speakers. This year, we have to do it a bit differently,” she said. “Hopefully next year will be different in a lot of ways.”
