How does a person get acquainted with a community? VOLUNTEER! That is what February Volunteer of the Month Shirley Foss did when she moved to Yankton. Foss became a Community Worker with a client at Lewis & Clark Behavioral Health for about three years until the program ended; however she now keeps regular contact with her at the nursing home.

Foss spends time with Pine Lane residents participating in crafts, baking cookies and playing bingo. At Majestic Bluffs she can be found visiting friends living in all the levels - independent, assisted living and nursing home. Foss participates in Catholic Daughters' activities such as the soup kitchen as well as helping at the Banquet. She enjoys attending Federated Women's Club meetings as well as joining in their activities. When food is needed for the Habitat for Humanity workers, Shirley can be found cooking for them. She was instrumental in the renovation of the Emmaus House by cooking for the workers and helping with the grass roots endeavor.

Shirley Foss has volunteered for many years. Preparing an annual dinner with her husband and friends for a church benefit that fed about 500 people was no easy task. She has also read to school children, been a member of the VFW and Junior Leader Club and assisted with the Baseball Association.

Volunteering to Shirley Foss means giving of herself without being asked or getting anything back. She said, "Through helping others I have met many wonderful people. It makes me feel really good and keeps me out of mischief." Foss enjoys every minute of volunteering because she shares that "it is a joyous experience"!

Making a difference every day with a smile - that is the road Shirley Foss travels.