"Community is family," said the father of our August Volunteer of the Month, June Lee. She has taken this to heart as she has many years of volunteering behind her.

June grew up in Gayville and Yankton, and returned to South Dakota after a fifty year absence. Since 2001, she has been very busy with giving a helping hand. She has worked at the Community Clothing Closet for approximately six months and has organized and helped at the Women's Shelter Clothing Closet for two years. Since the spring of 2002, she has been a Reading Buddy for third graders in the Gayville - Volin School which she finds lots of fun! She has volunteered at the Yankton Senior Citizens Center for two years and also helps her neighbor, Walnut Village, with yard work.

In the past, June has had many years of volunteering experience with schools, churches, Girl Scouts, and the YWCA. She has been trained in Braille, a world language involving six keys adorned with dots, and passed the test given by the Library of Congress. She was a Reading Secretary for the blind for four years. Two years of those years were spent as a Braille instructor and the other two as a typist. She also won a state award in Indiana for inventing a board game for junior high kids who were slower readers.

Recently, June has won the Keep Yankton Beautiful Yard Award, and continues to keep the common fence line between her home and Walnut Village landscaped.

Throughout her time volunteering since 2001, she has moved back to Yankton, got married, and has settled into their new place. Her folks always said, "You help everyone you can, because that is how we make it together." June started volunteering as a young mother and has continued to be a great asset to the volunteering community throughout the years.

Article Written by Volunteer Erika Carr