RSVP Orange County Station Partner: Volunteer Spotlight of the Month - Paul King

Goin Native Therapeutic Gardens is a nonprofit organization and OneOC’s RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program) Station Partner. Their nature environment promotes health and wellness, calm serenity, aesthetic peace, community engagement. Nature Stewards are volunteers for both the Butterfly Sanctuary & Therapeutic gardens for youth, groups, senior, adults with disabilities and the public at large. Nature Stewards teach gardening and life skills to engage special needs adults, youth, seniors, and veteran groups to include individuals on their vocational career path through gardening sensory activities, serenity education and meditation techniques in nature.

This month, Going Native chose Nature Steward Paul King, as volunteer of the month for his 5 years of dedicated and care-driven service at the Therapeutic Gardens located at Los Rios Park in the city of San Juan Capistrano, Ca. Goin Native originally hired Paul King as a volunteer Garden Angel for his background as a prior Wastewater Treatment Operations Supervisor for the City of Los Angeles for 40 years.

Paul is well-known and named by the community as “Water Boy”.  The beloved RSVP volunteer engages others to not only appreciate the wonders of nature but to embrace the beauty of history. He discovered the ability to engage his community to embrace nature while inspiring them to appreciate the garden’s therapeutic health and wellness benefits as well. Over the years, he has become very close to multi-generations of neighbors and has made many friends who return to visit him again and again.

Paul now a OneOC-RSVP Nature Steward volunteer who teaches gardening and life skills to engage special needs adults, youth, seniors, and veteran groups to include individuals on their vocational career path through gardening sensory activities, serenity education and meditation techniques in nature.

Paul sees his RSVP volunteerism at Goin Native Therapeutic Gardens as a “gift of age” of which he is truly grateful. Paul noted, “there are more people over 50 years old alive today than ever before”. And that, volunteerism gives him tremendous opportunities to age healthy, make friends and find purpose while making a positive impact on his community.

When asked what why he would recommend others to volunteer?

Paul King expressed, “more years provide us with more time, more time to volunteer, more time to bond with others socially, more time to find our community and giveback”. And that he promises that other volunteers will discover more perspective and appreciation for your life, leave a legacy and learn the importance of leading others to do the same.

###

The Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), is a free members-only program through the Corporation of National Community Service for adults age 55+ and beyond. Established in 1971, RSVP is one of the largest senior volunteer organizations in the nation with more than 360,000 volunteers. Volunteers can use the skills and talents they’ve learned over the years or develop new ones while serving in a variety of volunteer activities within our community. Learn more at www.oneoc.org/volunteers/skillsbasedvolunteering

Interested in becoming an RSVP volunteer? OneOC hosts RSVP Volunteers throughout Orange and San Bernardino Counties nonprofit organizations to ensure that those most in need of education, food security, food delivery, and employment receive the help they need most. Sign up by CLICKING HERE.