On Monday, April 25, Gov. Janet Mills recognized the 130 volunteers of St. Andrews Auxiliary as the state’s Outstanding Volunteer Program for 2022. The Governor’s Service Award was given in a 30-minute YouTube presentation during which Mills lauded the volunteers for their efforts, including the funds raised which support nursing scholarships and help address Maine’s nursing shortage.

Mills congratulated the volunteer organization, saying “Thank you for all that you do. You helped save lives and reduce illness throughout Lincoln County.” In addition to comments by Mills, the award program included a brief video narrated by Dan Zajdel.

Laura Zajdel, auxiliary president, explained that every year there has been an application process but the organization “Never applied for anything.”

Her husband, Dan “noticed that he hadn’t seen any organization in the area win an award,” so he nominated St. Andrews Auxiliary. Two letters of support were needed to accompany the nomination and these were provided by Cindy Wade and Scott Kennedy of LincolnHealth.  

The nomination application and letters of support were submitted in time to meet the March deadline. When the organization didn’t immediately hear from Volunteer Maine, Zajdel told the Auxiliary’s board of directors to “Put it on the back burner.” The members were notified of the award the week of April 8 in an email from Volunteer Maine.

“There is no monetary award,” she said. “But this helps our goal to communicate what we do.”

As she explained, the 70-year-old thrift shop is one of the group’s efforts but the volunteer hours also help fund scholarships to nursing school, improving medical facilities, providing specialized medical equipment for patients and, in 2021, helping with the local vaccination program.

“Every organization was thrown into ‘How do we do this creatively during a pandemic?’”

Auxiliary members volunteered over 600 hours to the vaccination clinic, greeting, screening and helping with parking for 3 1/2 months.

During the past year, Auxiliary volunteers also sewed thousands of face masks for schoolchildren in Lincoln County, helped at the Gregory Wing and worked in small groups to provide remote help where needed.

Zajdel explained that, although the Auxiliary’s work is “largely focused on our peninsula, not all volunteers are from the immediate area.” And some volunteers are part time residents who leave for the winter and return to their volunteer jobs in the summer.

The Auxiliary’s priorities for the year are determined in September when the organization decides what the community needs. This is done with help from LincolnHealth. As noted in a statement from the Auxiliary, this year funds are going toward nursing school scholarships, the physician program with Tufts University, New Hope for Women and the local ambulance service. Proceeds from the thrift shop, donations and Auxiliary membership dues all go to support this work.  

For 2021-22, allocation of the funds raised through the Auxiliary’s volunteer efforts were $57,188 for medical equipment and a new entry door at St. Andrews Village and $40,000 for medical scholarships.

Zajdel remembered the late Rev. Dr. Mary Jo Zimmerli, who would call the volunteers “the dear hearts” and talk about the rewards of a continuous cycle of giving.

Zajdel, commenting on the award, said, “Through good times, through recent rough times – through it all – the Auxiliary continues to shine brightly throughout the community thanks to the efforts of our dedicated volunteers.”

For those interested in volunteering, the thrift shop has created a table with information.