Margot Whiteaker

• Name: Margot Whiteaker

• Age: 77

• Family: Husband, three sons and seven grandchildren

• City of residence: Yuba City

• Occupation: Retired from Bank of America

• How long have you lived in the Yuba-Sutter area? We came here from Southern California in 1993.

• Hobbies, interests: I love to sew, do crossword puzzles and read.

• For what groups do you volunteer? American Cancer Society for about 11 years - normally it’s one half-day a week, but I fill in at other times, too, especially for special events like Relay For Life and Daffodil Days. I’m responsible for recruiting and training volunteers and making sure there is someone in the office at all times.

• How do you fit it into your schedule? When you’re retired, you have quite a bit of time on your hands. It’s not really a problem because my husband is really easygoing and he sometimes gets involved with the organization, too.

• Words of advice: The only thing I can say is that it’s very rewarding and you get emotionally attached to the people you are helping. It’s just a very rewarding thing to do, to give back to the community and hopefully make a difference in other people’s lives. Hopefully you can help them and steer them in the right direction.

• Positive and negative points about volunteering: There’s not one thing that’s negative; it’s all positive, it’s all good. First of all, you meet a lot of wonderful people, and they are all very caring and giving - or else we wouldn’t be here. That’s one big plus that we have, such great people. They’re all pretty dedicated and want to help the patients as much as they can. As far as volunteering goes, I would advise that everybody get involved. It just makes you feel good and gives you a lift for the day. It’s a great society, it’s a wonderful place and we’re all here to give help to the people in our community.

• Quote: “We were new in the area and I thought, first of all, volunteering would be a nice thing to do to help other people, and also I thought maybe I’d meet some people. I thought it would be a nice way to get involved in the community.”