Since 2008, the Greenville couple has logged 5,035 volunteer hours.
Earlier this year, they were recognized for their community contribution when they received the Joined Hearts in Giving award from the Ohio Department of Aging. The award is given annually to Ohio couples, married for at least 40 years, who have made significant contributions through their volunteer efforts.
The French’s were one of just 22 couples in Ohio to receive the award. The couple has been married for 46 years and has three children and seven grandchildren.
Victor and Becky French are volunteers with HandsOn West Central Ohio, serving through the retired and senior volunteer program.
Becky assists with clerical and data entry tasks in the HandsOn office while Victor serves as a disaster volunteer for the Darke County Chapter of the American Red Cross and for the FISH Choice Pantry in Darke County.
Victor became involved with the American Red Cross after Hurricane Katrina hit many of the southern states in 2005. After taking a series of classes, French was sent to Mississippi for three weeks. There he drove an emergency response vehicle and delivered meals to those cleaning up from the storm and those impacted from the storm.
“After I came back, I stayed active in the local chapter,” Victor said.
He now is captain of one of four disaster action teams, a group of Red Cross volunteers who respond to local fires, floods, and military calls. He also teaches Red Cross classes on sheltering and operating an emergency response vehicle.
When his church, the EUM Church of Greenville, conducted a food drive, Victor soon found himself volunteering for the FISH Choice Pantry in Greenville. In addition to buying perishable food for the pantry and working there a few days each week, Victor serves on its advisory board.
“I just went and did it and enjoyed it,” he said about his involvement with the food pantry. “We’ve been so blessed with so much. It’s a way of giving back to the community.”
Becky began volunteering at HandsOn after an employee there encouraged her. There, she does data entry and logs the volunteer hours for volunteers in Darke, Logan, Miami and Shelby counties.
“I just enjoy going in and doing it,” she said about her monthly volunteer work.
Until she began the data entry job, she didn’t realize how many volunteer opportunities existed in the area. People can volunteer for a variety of tasks — from delivering meals to reading bingo cards at a nursing home to helping with taxes, she said.
The couple received their Joined Hearts in Giving award last month during a ceremony in Columbus. Among those attending the ceremony were First Lady Karen Waldbillig Kasich and Ohio Department of Aging director Bonnie Kantor-Burman.
Do you know of someone who should be featured in Hereabouts? Send an e-mail to Beth Sears at sears@erinet.com or call her at (937) 448-0101.
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