Ray Van Patten, a Hastings retiree, described his involvement with Adams County Senior Services and his longtime association with the Boy Scouts of America. Senior services helps its clients in various ways, from arranging homemaker and handyman services to running the congregate meal program at the senior center. In 58 years of work with the Boy Scouts, Van Patten said, he has helped more than 60 boys earn their Eagle Scout awards. He called on the people of Hastings to get out and work on behalf of their favorite organizations. Mitch Deisch, the city of Hastings' environmental superintendent and a Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteer, said his program and the others supported by United Way deserve the time and money they receive from the community.
CASA volunteers work as advocates for the welfare of children involved in the court system.
They do case research and make recommendations to the court, taking some workload pressure off lawyers and social services personnel. One speaker at Thursday's event said he and his family have been beneficiaries of the community's generosity. Thuy Pham and several other members of his family arrived in Hastings in March for resettlement by Catholic Social Services. He and his family were given refugee status and allowed to come to the United States. Members of the family are finding jobs and learning better English through the Hastings Literacy Program, Pham said.