Volunteer of the Year Award

As an organization that depends on volunteers to carry out its mission of raising and distributing funds to support local charitable organizations, the Community Chest wishes to recognize the importance of volunteer efforts throughout the community.

The Volunteer of the Year Award is given each year in grateful memory of Edith and Adolph Salomon who came to Williamstown in 1939, having fled Nazi Germany where Dr. Solomon had been held in a concentration camp. For the next 50 years, the Salomons contributed their time and treasure to this community. Adolph became the doctor for the Williamstown Public Schools as well as having a family practice and serving on the Council on Aging. Edith served as a volunteer with the American Red Cross for 45 years, as a member of the board of the Williamstown Community Chest for 12 years, and as a member of the St. John's church choir and community choral groups until her death in 1993.

In gratitude for the community which had provided them a refuge and home for more than half a century, the Salomons left a bequest to the Williamstown Community Chest which has made it possible to cover all overhead costs and to insure that all contributions are devoted to the needs of our member agencies.

In turn, the Community Chest wishes to express their gratitude to the Salomons by honoring members of the community who, like the Salomons, have volunteered their services to make Williamstown a better place in which to live.

See a list of past recipients of this award.