All of us at Abilities United were delighted to present 30-year volunteer, Becky Beacom, with the President's Volunteer Call to Service Lifetime award. Read the comments of congratulations from the community to Becky on the Palo Alto Online post of the following article. You deserve this award and many more Becky! Thanks for being so involved in the local community including Abilities United!
Abilities United proudly presented Becky Beacom, a 30 year volunteer with Abilities United, the President’s Volunteer Service Call to Action Lifetime Award http://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/tg/pvsainfo/dspAboutAwards.cfm for her 4,000+ hours of volunteer work as the instructor of the Pre-Natal Fitness Class offered at the Abilities United Betty Wright Swim Center. http://www.AbilitiesUnited.org/BWSCwelcome
In addition to being a lifelong volunteer at Abilities United, Becky is a renowned health educator with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation where she oversees their prenatal education and numerous community outreach programs and is founder and leader of the SHARE Committee, a collaboration of home, school, and community to ensure a sense of wholeness and well-being for the youth of Palo Alto. She gently, calmly, and insightfully shares her knowledge on anything from bike safety to teen risk behavior to child rearing. Her voice is one of reason and empathy. Becky lives with her husband in Palo Alto and is the mother of two young-adult children.
The Lifetime Award is a very unique and prestigious award as it takes many years of consistent and continual volunteer work for one individual to donate over 4,000 hours of community service. Although President Obama wasn't present, Becky received an official letter, certificate and pin from President Obama and the White House. Staff and participants were present to congratulate Becky.
Becky’s commitment to Abilities United began in 1981 when she was looking for a pool for mothers-to-be to exercise in throughout the year. The warm water and indoor pool at the Abilities United Betty Wright Swim Center (BWSC) was the perfect match, and Becky has held her weekly pre-natal fitness class ever since finding this jewel. Prenatal exercise was the arena where Becky found her passion for health education and disease prevention. Even though her career has led her to work on a variety of health issues, her volunteer work at the Abilities United has allowed her to stay in touch with expectant mothers; a population near to her heart; and warm water, a medium that she adores. Becky says, “I look forward to my Saturday mornings and am so grateful for the relationships that I’ve enjoyed over these years.”
In fact, it is that close connection that she makes with her students that keeps them coming from near and far, week after week, to her Saturday morning class. Most students take her health education and movement class from the end of the first trimester all the way until a week or two before their due date. What Becky knows is, “it is such a relief to be in a non-weight bearing environment, floating on a noodle, suspended in the water, particularly as the pressure intensifies and the body becomes increasingly tired.”
The best part of the class, though, may be the social outlet as well as the invaluable opportunity for the mothers-to-be to focus on themselves and their own health for an hour. Even with their diverse backgrounds and ages coming from all over the Bay Area, the women bond on a very deep, sensitive level.
Becky sees the prenatal class as having real value today as well, “Women today are facing greater demands. They are stepping into careers and motherhood, often simultaneously. Women should develop healthy fitness habits during their pregnancy so that they will continue these changes into the new life they are creating.”
The President¹s Volunteer Service Award
http://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/tg/pvsainfo/dspAboutAwards.cfm is issued by Points of Light Institute and the Corporation for National and Community Service on behalf of the President of the United States to recognize the best in American spirit and to encourage all Americans to improve their communities through volunteer service and civic participation. The award is given to individuals, families and groups that have demonstrated outstanding volunteer service over a 12-month period. Individuals who complete 4,000 or more hours of volunteer service over the course of their lifetime will be recognized with the President¹s Call to Action Award.
http://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/tg/pvsainfo/dspAboutAwards.cfm is issued by Points of Light Institute and the Corporation for National and Community Service on behalf of the President of the United States to recognize the best in American spirit and to encourage all Americans to improve their communities through volunteer service and civic participation. The award is given to individuals, families and groups that have demonstrated outstanding volunteer service over a 12-month period. Individuals who complete 4,000 or more hours of volunteer service over the course of their lifetime will be recognized with the President¹s Call to Action Award.
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