Wendy Rawlings will be remembered for her community service for years to come.
The Blounts Creek resident died of pneumonia Saturday, but not before making a great impact through her volunteer work.
Rawlings was retired and served as a guardian ad litem in Beaufort County.
In the span of about a year, Rawlings volunteered 226.75 hours at the Beaufort/Hyde Partnership for Children.
Lisa Woolard, director of the partnership, said Rawlings came along at exactly the right time. The organization’s budget had been cut by 20 percent, and it was in desperate need of a volunteer willing to be its “greeter.”
“Although she was in a volunteer capacity, everyone in the office came to know and respect Wendy for her friendly personality and dedication to the work provided,” Woolard said. “She was a tremendous asset to our community, and we are so thankful for her.”
Rawlings sat at the front desk, welcomed patrons of the lending library, answered phones, fielded questions and helped with whatever project came up.
Rawlings recruited other volunteers for the organization, bringing in someone to help as a greeter and a former teacher to work with a preschool-aged child-parent activity group.
After hearing of her passing, Woolard decided to name a new award after Rawlings. The Wendy Rawlings Volunteer of the Year award program will accept nominations from Beaufort and Hyde counties. The award will be presented in June.
Rawlings beat lung cancer five times in 12 years. Because she was a cancer survivor, Woolard is collecting donations for Camp Dove. Rawlings spent time at the camp for cancer survivors.
“Wendy committed herself to serving our community through volunteerism an average of one day each week for 5 hours. This commitment was no small endeavor. Wendy drove from Blounts Creek to Washington in order to volunteer with the organization,” Woolard said. “Her enthusiasm and passion for serving inspired everyone with whom she came in contact.”
Her favorite quotes and a few axioms she lived by:
-LUVSLIFE (her NC License Plate).
-Life is Short, Eat Dessert First.
-Sometimes I’m just so happy, I don’t know what to do with myself.
-Live, Love, Laugh, and enjoy every day to its fullest.
A celebration of Wendy’s life will be held at the Washington Civic Center, 110 N. Gladden St., Washington, on Sunday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. Friends and family encouraged attendants to dress casually and wear purple.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Trinity and Beyond, a capital campaign of the Episcopal Archdiocese of East Carolina (705 Doctors Drive, Kinston, NC 28503). This campaign benefits the Trinity Center, which hosts Camp Dove, a retreat for cancer survivors.