A good deed during the holidays has earned Connie Osbon the 2004 Volunteer of the Year Award from the Tigard Senior Center.

Four years ago, Connie joined the Tigard "Knit Wits" because she likes to knit and liked the idea that the group regularly produced knitted and crocheted items for charity. So when she saw a story on the news last fall about Operation Adopt-A-Family, she thought this might be a good project for the Knit Wits to take on. Part of the "Support Our Troops USA" program, Operation Adopt-A-Family seeks to fill the void created in a family when one of the parents is a deployed soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan.

"I went to the website listed on the news and learned I could adopt a family for an entire year or just for the holiday season," Connie said. "I figured the holiday season was about all we could handle, so I said I would do that. We were assigned a soldier who had just returned from service in Iraq, his expectant wife and three little boys. We began our project at Thanksgiving, so we didn’t have a lot of time to get organized."

Connie initially involved just the Knit Wits at the Tigard Senior Center, but then decided she would try to get everyone at the Senior Center involved. She placed receptacles for clothing and nonperishable food at the Center and distributed flyers listing the family members’ ages, sizes, and holiday gift wishes. The Knit Wits got to work making blankets and other knitted items for the baby on the way, while the seniors at the Center worked collecting gift items, food and cash. Many of the seniors at Tigard are war veterans themselves and took a special interest in the project.

"Many of the families left behind when a soldier is deployed are financially strapped," Connie said. "We were able to collect enough money to pay $235 to PGE and $165 to Verizon. The Sherwood Albertsons donated a full turkey dinner and we purchased a $35 Albertsons gift card to go along with it."

The adopted family was invited to lunch at Tigard Senior Center in December to receive their bounty and to meet the many seniors who had participated in the project. It took two vans to transport the gifts to the family’s nearby apartment. Connie’s efforts not only earned her the 2004 Volunteer of the Year Award, she was asked to head up the project again this coming holiday season.

If you would like to become involved in Operation Adopt-a-Family, go to www.supportourtroopsusa.org for more information or phone 503.880.1819.

If you would like to know more about volunteering at a center in your neighborhood, call Angel Pilato at 503.736.6325 ext. 86239.