Celebrating Our Volunteers
Volunteers are an invaluable part of Vivalon’s services. Every day, they are on the front lines delivering meals, providing rides, and connecting with people throughout Marin.
April is Volunteer Appreciation Month, and we want everyone to know how incredibly grateful we are to work with an outstanding community of volunteers. They are truly making a difference in so many lives. Last year, 322 volunteers provided over 14,000 hours of service to ensure the needs of Marin’s older adults and people living with disabilities were met.
Meet Arnold
Arnold Luber has been volunteering at Vivalon for nearly 10 years. Each week, he assists people with parking at Vivalon’s Healthy Aging Center. Friday mornings, he’s outside, rain or shine, ensuring people can safely park during the Brown Bag Pantry. Recently, he has started joining us on Tuesdays when the center is busy with classes and activities as well. Arnold tells us that volunteering at Vivalon is very rewarding to him. “That’s why I keep doing it. It helps to make people’s day better. I appreciate how we help senior citizens.” Learn more about Arnold below.
Who is your hero?
Neil Young, he’s a musician and been making songs forever. He’s successful and keeps on playing. Buster Posey is a hero, even though he’s not playing baseball anymore. He was a player for the Giants. Stephen Curry is probably one of the greatest players of basketball that ever lived. Michael Jordan is another one of the greatest players of all time. I like basketball and baseball and I used to be a golfer.
How long have you been volunteering at Vivalon?
Since 2014.
What brought you to Vivalon?
Another volunteer asked if I might be interested.
What did you do prior to volunteering/working at Vivalon?
I worked at a school for about five years in the special education department at a middle school, and before that, for about 33 years, I was in the wholesale apparel industry. I was in the sales end of it, and I had showrooms all over the West Coast and Texas.
What is your favorite movie?
It’s a Wonderful Life was a favorite. Pulp Fiction is another good one.
What are some random fun facts about you?
I have good health. I’ve got all my original parts, never had anything replaced, so still going strong. I’ve met several presidents. I’ve met Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson. I was born in Washington D.C., as my parents were, so I was able to be a local and meet some of the local celebrities, which were all politicians. I have a great child, one daughter, her name is Casey. She has a two-year-old son named Nuno, and she’s married to a guy who is from Portugal, so we went there for the wedding. I’m married to a wonderful woman from Brooklyn, New York. Her name is Aileen.
What is something you want to learn or wish you were better at?
I don’t have any frustrations about not being able to do a certain thing. I can pretty much do what I want. I’m pretty content. Guitar is something I could take up, but I’ve never done that. I appreciate it and wish I could play but those callouses on your left hand are tough to develop, so I never really got in to playing.
What is your favorite place on earth?
I like island Kaui in Hawaii. It’s got a good pace to it, so we like that a lot. I like Ireland a lot too. I think it’s a great country. Portugal is also a great country.
If you’re interested in joining our volunteer team, reach out to us at [email protected] or 415-456-9067. You can also visit our website here. We are always welcoming new drivers for our CarePool and Meals on Wheels programs. If you’re not sure where to start, let us know and we’ll help find a role that’s right for you!
