March 2010: Bill O’Connor
Woods’ Volunteer Program is pleased to announce this month’s Volunteer of the Month, Bill O'Connor. Bill has been with Woods through his connection with St. Andrew’s Parish. Many years ago, Bill began volunteering as a driver to pick up and accompany Woods’ clients to church on Sundays. We at Woods appreciate all that he has done and continues to do.
“My volunteering began back in 1965, under the aegis of Fr. Al Smith, O.S.A., one of my teachers at Msgr. Bonner H.S., Drexel Hill, PA (and the grandson of Al Smith, Democratic Party candidate for President, former Governor of New York),” shares Bill. “We worked at various sites around Philadelphia, such as St. Vincent Orphanage, St. John's Orphanage, St. Edmund's (a facility much like Woods), and the Cardinal Krol Center of the Don Guanella School in Springfield, PA. When I moved to Newtown in 1987, one of the first people I met was Bob Moser, founder of the Knights of Columbus/St. Andrews/Woods Services Transport program. This program provides transportation for Woods’ clients to attend church on Sundays, and was the very first volunteer program of any kind at Woods. It was a natural fit for me, a continuation of what I had been doing for many years. Almost 23 years later, it is indeed edifying to look back at all of the memorable people I have met and experiences gained at Woods over the years.”
One such experience occurred at St. Andrew's church one Sunday when a client who, while the baskets were being passed around for a second charitable collection wondered aloud “What do they think we are ... made of money?!?” It was so loud, in fact, the entire 1,500-strong congregation heard him, including the pastor, and everyone broke up laughing!
Another fond memory of Bill’s happened at one of the first Visitor’s Days at Woods. “My job was handing out cups of Rita's Water Ice and when we ran out of Cherry and Lemon, leaving only Watermelon, which wasn't exactly moving too well, I started to enlist clients to work for me as ‘sales people’ and we walked through the gathering, letting the families know that we had stayed up all night removing the seeds from the Watermelon water-ice cups and we thought everyone should try it.”
Bill’s involvement with Woods extends to annual trips to Villanova University for a “Practice Session” with the Men's Basketball team, a tradition started under Coach Rollie Massimino and eagerly carried on to this day by Coach Jay Wright and his staff. Bill expresses, “not only is it a wonderful afternoon of Villanova Basketball for the Woods clients, but the relationships established with the players over the years form a bond that none of the participants ever forget. To have a client ask for his favorite player and to have that player ask about a client they met, even after a career in the Pros, is something special.
Bill concludes, “There are far too many memories to list here. None of this would be possible without the commitment of all of the drivers in our Sunday Transport program over the last 40 years. All of us thank Woods Services for its' support of this initiative over the years, and we look forward to participating in our small way at Woods for many years to come, always welcoming new clients into our lives. Thank you!”
