Meet Chris and Jeanne Mussig, Volunteer Fairfax Award Winners!

Kudos to Chris and Jeanne Mussig for their volunteer work helping people who face food insecurity, and transportation and educational challenges! They were recently honored with a well-deserved service award in the “family” category by Volunteer Fairfax, a program that mobilizes people and resources to meet regional community needs.

Here's a quick account of what this remarkable couple does, through RSVP-Northern Virginia, to create a better community for all of us. RSVP-Northern Virginia is the region's largest volunteer program for people age 55 and better.

Working with Meals on Wheels, the Musings deliver meals to older adults and adults with disabilities who are case managed by the Department of Family Services. This work provides necessary nutrition as well as socialization to clients who are often socially isolated. In addition, the delivery visits allow them to do quick checks to make sure the clients are doing well.

Volunteer Solutions' coordinator, Carolyn Thomas, notes their willingness to fill in on routes when needed. “We value their participation in improving the lives of adults through volunteering,” she adds.

The Mussigs also volunteer for the Shepherd's Center of Western Fairfax County as volunteer drivers for medical and food pantry appointments. “Jeanne and Chris are terrific volunteers,” says Travis White, the group's executive director.

Chris also volunteers each week with Cornerstones. Every Thursday morning, he travels to the Whole Foods Market where he picks up 300-600 pounds of donated food. He then delivers this to Hunters Woods Fellowship House for distribution to its 90 low-income senior citizen households.

“Cornerstones doesn’t have the manpower to rescue this valuable food source and wouldn't be able to make it available to seniors in need without his help," said Minnie Orozco, the group's food pantry manager.

Jeanne also volunteers with GrandInvolve, helping children in Title 1 elementary schools with reading and math.

Volunteers like Jeanne and Chris Mussig remind us of the power of kindness during challenging times.