Trending
While most new retirees take up a hobby or begin work on a project they've put off, Quenton Northcraft threw himself into volunteering at the Catholic Charities Neighborhood Center four to five days a week.
Northcraft's dedication to not only putting in the hours at the center but also improving facilities and streamlining processes at Catholic Charities has earned him the 2024 Governor's Service Award in the Senior category.
The 69-year-old began volunteering at the facility eight years ago after retiring from a managerial position at American Electric Power. Northcraft began his volunteer career by running food delivery routes for the center. He fell in love with the work when he took the food route with a different perspective.
"At first, I was just picking up the food and delivering it to the addresses," recalled Northcraft. "After a while, it dawned on me that you're not just picking up food to deliver to an address. You're actually picking up a meal and delivering it to a person."
With this change in outlook, Northcraft began getting to know the people he delivered to on the route. He described himself as having a "transformation" in how he viewed the work he was doing.
"We deliver many meals to people who are not just poor, but they can't cook anymore," noted Northcraft. "We help meet them where they're at."
As Northcraft began volunteering more and more with the center, he found his work moving beyond the food route. Northcraft's involvement with the center now encompasses coordinating resources for the unhoused, delivering meals, mentoring volunteers, organizing the food pantry and boosting community support for the Neighborhood Center.
Northcraft's experience with AEP has also made him a vital resource for advice for staff members on improving processes and organizing and structuring the facility.
"It's [the Neighborhood Center] a pretty hectic place and can be in disarray a lot, so that's one of the niches that I kind of carved out for myself while helping them," described Northcraft. "I'm trying to help staff decide what could be done better."
Volunteer Manager Tracey Dickerson, who nominated Northcraft for the award, explained that Northcraft's role as a "logistics guy" has been a great help to the facility. She drew attention to the large undertaking he took to organize their Central Catholic Food Drive, the largest food drive in the state.
"He kind of took it upon himself to do signage and also manage the logistics of sorting, shelving and storing all of that food," said Dickerson. "It is a much more streamlined process now to do the drive because of that. We're a pretty busy center, so he's just really good at helping us move forward and be better."
Though Northcraft loves to sink his teeth into larger projects, he acknowledged that often his volunteer day could be taken up by performing simple tasks for the facility.
"I think some people pigeonhole themselves into thinking, "Well this is what I do, and this is all that I can do," said Northcraft. "For me, if the trash needs dumped, I dump the trash. If the cardboard needs cut up, I'll do it.
"Today I fixed a toilet because when you've been around for 69 years, it kind of happens that you're the one around who knows how to do that stuff," he joked.
What keeps Northcraft motivated to complete the simple and large tasks is the knowledge that he knows what he is doing is helping people.
"I believe in the mission of Catholic Charities, and we're helping people," said Northcraft. "I don't know what could be better than that. I'm just an ordinary guy doing some pretty ordinary things, I mean sometimes all I do is just cut up cardboard."
Northcraft added that performing "any number of tasks," whether menial or significant, can make a difference in helping people on the margins in Wheeling.
"My job isn't to fix people, my job is to help with things more than anything," noted Northcraft. "That's the easy part. The staff here have the hard job trying to fix people."
Dickerson noted that Northcraft's can-do attitude has made him a "bright spot" during tough days at the facility.
"On many days, what could have been a sad day was made better by him showing up with a positive attitude ready to be put to work," noted Dickerson. "He's not above doing anything and will do anything to help us out."
Northcraft will head to the Culture Center in Charleston on Thursday to receive the award administered by Volunteer West Virginia. Though he did not begin his volunteer work eight years ago to be recognized by Governor Jim Justice, Northcarft noted winning the award was "very humbling."
"I'm not out to win something with what I do, so I'm pretty humbled and honored at the same time," said Northcraft. "I've never looked at what I do as work, I just see that somebody needs a little help and then I just jump in and do it."