[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 40 (Thursday, April 14, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 14, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
      TRIBUTE TO RUTH Q. DODGE FOR A LIFETIME OF VOLUNTEER SERVICE

                                 ______


                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 14, 1994

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, next Monday we will begin honoring our 
Nation's volunteers by marking National Volunteer Week and today I 
would like to offer one of the greatest examples possible of what the 
week will commemorate--the lifetime of service of Ruth Q. Dodge.
  She began her lifetime of service at the age of 18 when she was 
admitted to the Junior League of the city of New York in 1929. For 2 
years she volunteered from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 
a Charity Organization Society location which filled clothing 
requisitions from caseworkers for their clients. In 1933, Ruth moved to 
Toledo and transferred to the Junior League of Toledo, becoming its 
president in 1936 and serving in that capacity until 1938. Her 
commitment to social service volunteer work culminated in the Junior 
League's creation in 1948 of what was then called the Volunteer Bureau. 
The bureau matched volunteers with certain skills and interests with 
community agencies in need of those skills. The Volunteer Bureau was a 
project of the Junior League for 4 years, logging thousands of 
volunteer hours and costing the Junior League over $28,000 in 1950's 
money to establish and administer. In 1952, the Junior League turned 
the Volunteer Bureau over to the United Way of Greater Toledo and it is 
now called the United Way of Greater Toledo's Voluntary Action Center 
[VAC]. Just as it did in 1948, VAC links volunteers with area not-for-
profit organizations and promotes the recognition of these volunteers.
  To mark National Volunteer Week this year, the United Way Voluntary 
Action Center and the Junior League of Toledo are joining together to 
honor their volunteers. The centerpiece of these efforts will occur on 
Monday, April 18, when the Ruth Q. Dodge Volunteer Garden will be 
dedicated on the grounds of the Community Service Building in Toledo, 
OH, to serve as a constant reminder of the glowing example of service 
that is Ruth Q. Dodge. I ask all my colleagues gathered here today to 
join me in recognizing Ruth for her lifetime of service which continues 
on in the work of the Voluntary Action Center in Toledo, OH. America 
needs more citizens like Ruth.

                          ____________________