An Admirable Activist Pickerington senior embodies the generous spirit of volunteerism

WWhen it comes to giving back to her community, Dorothy Peterson doesn’t mess around.

The Pickerington senior citizen is part of no fewer than seven organizations dedicated to service and charity.

She settled in Pickerington after a life spent in various locations throughout the Midwest, and her connection to the community is too strong for her to ever envision leaving, she says.

“People are so friendly and caring here,” Peterson says. “I’ve never lived anywhere where I felt such a close community feeling.”

Peterson was named Volunteer of the Year at the PCMA Food Pantry of Pickerington in 2010, and just this year was nominated for induction in the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame by food pantry Director Dianna Kassouf. Though dedicated to her work at the food pantry, that’s hardly the only place Peterson helps out.

Locally, Peterson is part of Friends of the Pickerington Public Library, the Pickerington Violet Township Historical Society and the Violet Township Women’s League, and is an active member of Prince of Peace Presbyterian Church. She’s also involved with Touching Little Lives, a Circleville-based nonprofit dedicated to helping newborns, and an organization that gives scholarships to women pursuing college degrees.

Each organization and group promotes volunteerism and giving back to the community. Whether she’s raising money for a scholarship, serving families at the food pantry or knitting scarves for the Special Olympics with the Women’s League, Peterson truly enjoys offering her time.

“I have the time to volunteer and feel I should give back since I have gained so much in this community,” she says.

Though her level of volunteerism has certainly increased in recent years, Peterson has worked to do good her whole life.

Although she admits not volunteering as much in the past due to a busier lifestyle, she has dedicated 53 years to nursing and public health.

In 1943, 18-yearold Peterson knew she wanted to become a nurse. With World War II underway, she joined the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps to help with the high demand. She left her small hometown of Ottawa, Ill. for Chicago to attend St. Bernard’s School of Nursing at Loyola University and worked in a civilian hospital to replace nurses who were needed to treat soldiers.

“Nursing was very rewarding right off the bat,” says Peterson. “I felt it was really my niche.”

After the war, she left Chicago and the Cadet Nurse Corps and worked at a hospital in Ottawa before marrying and moving to Wisconsin. Peterson eventually left hospital work and became a public health nurse.

Peterson moved from Wisconsin to Michigan and, after 28 years there, she retired and set her sights southward. She chose to move to Pickerington two years after retirement in 1998 to be closer to her children and grandchildren.

Since becoming a Pickerington resident, Peterson has felt welcome.

“It’s not easy to leave somewhere you’ve lived for so long,” she says. “I anticipated it (would be) hard to start all over, but it turned out to not be hard at all.”

Peterson knew one way to make a smooth transition to a new town is to quickly make friends. That’s why she decided to step up her volunteering.

She had heard about the food pantry in passing one day and thought it might benefit from her assistance. Since then, she has given much of her time helping others.

Peterson is greeted with smiles and hugs from the many friends she has made at the food pantry. She also has had the opportunity to work alongside younger people, whom she commends for their community involvement early on in life.

“It’s so nice to see the young people volunteer. They’re so needed, too,” she says. “It probably brings them out of themselves and makes them think of others. Once they start doing that as youngsters, it carries on throughout their whole lives.”

Peterson also credits the food pantry for sparking her passion for volunteering, and it continues to be the organization closest to her heart. The moment she realized her work truly made an impact on the community was when the economy took a downturn a few years back and need dramatically increased.

A young mother turned to the food pantry shortly after her house was repossessed. She arrived in tears with her three small children and she said they wouldn’t know what to do without this source of food. Peterson says the experience made the biggest impression on her and solidified her belief that people undoubtedly need a place like the food pantry to be available.

With her vast array of involvements, Peterson remains humble. Describing herself as “speechless,” she says she can’t imagine being inducted into the Senior Citizens Hall of Fame.

“There are so many outstanding people in the community who volunteer and I am just so honored to be recognized,” she says.

In her spare time, Peterson enjoys spending time with her three grandchildren and two children who live nearby. She’s also an avid reader and loves to knit.

Peterson is so grateful for all of the things she has learned and people she has met through being an active community member. She doesn’t have plans of slowing down any time soon and intends to continue being a familiar face in Pickerington.

Olivia Ohlin is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@city scenemediagroup.com.