For Schwartz, volunteering is Golden opportunity

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others? – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In the case of Cherry Schwartz, the answer is, “a lot.”

So much, in fact, that she is the recipient of the Book of Golden Deeds award for 2024.

“At one point, the Book of Golden Deeds was the event of Owatonna,” said Sharon Klein, president of the Exchange Club of Owatonna, which has sponsored the event since the 1950s.

“It was – and still is – a way to recognize those individuals that spend much of their lives volunteering for others,” she said at last week’s banquet. “They’re the ones that you may not even see, who work in the background to make our community a much better place to live.”

Schwartz echoed the sentiment after receiving her award.

“Owatonna wouldn’t be the same without all these other people who were nominated, too,” she said. “There’s no way. I can do some – but I can’t do it all.”

It seems to run in the family: Her husband, Gary Schwartz, received the honor in 2009.

The clubs and organizations that have benefited from Cherry Schwartz’s volunteerism include Izaak Walton League, Jaycee Women, retired teachers, Friends of Rice Lake State Park, and Our Savior’s Lutheran Church.

And she’s finding more.

“The newest thing I’m really excited about is OWLS,” she said, which stands for Older, Wiser Lutherans. She and her husband, along with another person, established the group in November.

“It’s a group ministry by – and for – seniors,” Schwartz said.

They have helped with Toys for Tots, hosted movie nights at the church, formed a walking group and are trying to put together a book club, she said, “but we always meet on the third Monday of the month at 9 a.m. at The Kitchen for a social time.”

Schwartz started volunteering in earnest with the Jaycees, “until I turned 36, and they kick you out of the Jaycees then,” she laughed.

Through her work with the Jaycees and Women of Today, she and Gary chartered a group that worked with individuals with special needs. It was active from 1981 until COVID forced it to disband – after nearly 40 years.

Cherry Schwartz continues to be active in a variety of ways, though she occasionally needs to modify things.

“I think volunteers continue to volunteer, but what they volunteer for may change because of age,” she said.

Thanks to a double knee replacement, Schwartz no longer climbs in and out of ditches as part of the Ikes’ clean-up program along U.S. Highway 218.

“But what I can do is stop at Oak Glen Lake Rest Area while the others are cleaning up the road,” she said, “and I can clean up the park. I can stop and rest when I need to, but I still feel like I’m volunteering and part of the group.”

Don’t bother telling her you’re too busy to help out, though.

If you do, Schwartz said, “that could be an opportunity to do something you want to do for yourself, that fulfills you.

“Or I ask, ‘well, if you’re not going to get involved, who do you think will do this in the next 10 years?’”

Her reputation for helping is far-reaching. According to Klein, the committee for this year’s event received six nominations for Schwartz.

“This shows the respect and love that her friends and neighbors have for her,” Klein said.

Though surprised to be the winner, Schwartz said, “it means a lot to be recognized for the volunteer things that I’ve done – although nobody in their right mind volunteers to get an award.”

This year’s other nominees for the Book of Golden Deeds were Tom Bonacci, Gloria Coulter, Scott Limberg, Judy Meister (posthumously), Jolayne Mohs, and Tom Thiele.

Exchange Club District President Gail Buckingham spoke about Meister, who was a 30-year member of the club, serving as treasurer for six years.

Meister died of cancer in January; she was 76.

Buckingham called her a perfectionist, a trailblazer, and a believer of women’s rights who “had a life well lived.”

She announced the Exchange Club’s donation to the Owatonna Foundation in memory of Meister, as “something Judy believed in, and we feel demonstrates her desires for our community.”