Four seniors from Framingham were honored for their lifelong volunteerism

FRAMINGHAM — The Framingham Council on Aging added four more names to its list of standout contributors, as a new quartet of winners were named for the 2023 Framingham Senior Heroes Awards.

City residents Peggy Holland, Margaret "Meg" Kelley, Bill Rabkin and Norma Shulman were each honored during a ceremony Thursday at the Callahan Center.

The Senior Heroes Awards, the brainchild of Framingham Council on Aging Board member Glenda Thomas, were first handed out in 2021. Thomas said she came up with the idea during the pandemic as a way to recognize the outstanding lifelong work of community members.

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"People were locked in, especially seniors who are separated from their families and in their rooms, and I wanted to give them something to look forward to and be able to share as a memory," she said. "If you look at the history of Framingham, these are people that were out at Town Meetings years ago, that brought us to where we are today. We have people that have volunteered so much, and as seniors get older, people forget about them, they forget about what they have contributed."

The awards are issued for four different categories: Health and Healthcare, Social Development, Arts and Culture and Public Service. Each candidate is nominated by members of the community, with one winner selected for each category.

Volunteering on suicide prevention hotlines

Holland was named the winner for the Health and Healthcare category for numerous contributions, which include 37 years as a volunteer on suicide prevention hotlines, including with Framingham-based Call2Talk, a mental health, emotional support and suicide prevention program that provides confidential and compassionate listening to people in crisis.

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"I had a friend who was interested in it and I saw an advertisement and I just saw it as something that was very different than what I did for work," said Holland, who managed a chemistry lab for 25 years. "I always liked to listen to people and that is really what it is; listening to people. It's a hard job, the burnout rate is very high, but I think the key to doing it for a long time is you need to take care of yourself and you need to have a lot of good co-workers, such as my friend Eileen who has been there for all 37 years."

Kelley active with literacy programs

Kelley was named the recipient for the award in the winner for Social Development, having spent decades working in public education, particularly spending time through literacy programs for non-native English speakers. She has also been a steadfast member of Saint Bridget Parish, serving as volunteer co-director for the church's food pantry and helping various groups, from recent immigrants to college students to Vietnam veterans, get enough to eat.

"I am humbled and honored to be recognized," said Kelley, whose parents owned Donovan Turkey Farm on Edgell Road when she was a child. "I'm grateful for my parents, who settled our family here in Framingham, and they inspired me to be a very caring and giving person."

Broadcasting hundreds of Access Framingham TV programs

Rabkin was named recipient for the award for Arts and Culture. He has volunteered with Access Framingham TV since 2009, and has spent time teaching video editing classes and training anyone interested in film production.

Rabkin has also been responsible for broadcasting hundreds of AFTV programs to the community through his volunteer efforts. He has dedicated time to teaching technology to fellow seniors, volunteering time at the Callahan Center to teach seniors how to use their computers.

"Thank you very much, I enjoy being involved with Access Framingham, I enjoy thinking there is some value in bringing the message of primarily nonprofit organizations to the community through the power of cable television and streaming online," Rabkin said.

Involved in local politics for nearly 50 years

The final recipient on the day was Shulman, who received the award for Public Service. Shulman has been involved in local politics for nearly 50 years, helping coordinate the Townwide Parents-Teachers Organization and running voter registration programs at every school in Framingham. Shulman served as a Town Meeting Member for 27 years and is a 20-year member of the Framingham Democratic Committee.

"I was truly honored to find out I was getting this award, but I'm additionally humbled in learning about the accomplishments of the other honorees today and past honorees," she said. "I just did what needed to be done. One of the greatest honors is when we are in some kind of event and people ask how you got involved, and someone says, 'Norma knocked on my door,' and that means that I've accomplished something."

Thomas said she hopes the awards highlight the work many seniors are still doing in the community and give younger generations a chance to see the work that older community members have done and continue to do.

"We overlook them because we view them as getting older, and we tend to dismiss them because they are older and the younger generation comes along and may not know the history because they come in at different points," Thomas said. "This is a way of keeping that history in the forefront."

Each senior was given a special citation from the Massachusetts State House. State Rep.s Jack Lewis, Priscila Sousa and Kate Donaghue all attended, as well as Dennis Giombetti, who was representing state Senate President Karen Spilka.