Maryland woman wins recognition for volunteer work with veterans
BALTIMORE -- Air Force veteran Minta Davis has logged more than 900 volunteer hours for the Department of Veteran Affairs since 2015.
Davis was recently named the VA Excellence in Customer Service Volunteer of the Year—a national recognition—for her work in Maryland.
"Mind blown," Davis said. "National Volunteer of the Year. I'm like, 'What?!?'"
Davis received the award in September from 36 nominations submitted by VA medical centers across the country.
"That's really something, isn't it?" Susan Kern, VA Maryland Health Care System's program manager for Voluntary Service, said. "Minta doesn't do one thing. She does a lot of things and she does a lot of things well."
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan congratulated Davis in a social media post on Wednesday.
Davis began volunteering after retirement in 2015. At first, she volunteered in the VA's hospice units.
She answered the call for a volunteer opportunity in 2020 with the "Phone Buddy Program," which pairs volunteers with veterans isolated at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"My family members had a hard time believing Minta wasn't getting paid," Ricardo Griffin joked. "They're like, 'She's got to be getting paid. When someone's going an extra step above for you and your health, how could you not try to match them?'"
Griffin, a retired music teacher and U.S. Navy veteran, speaks with Davis every Monday. Davis has helped him with his fitness and diet.
"She's really just being Minta and someone took notice of her," Griffin said of Davis' recognition.
To learn more about how to volunteer, call Susan Kern at (443) 252-0821 or email her at susan.kern@va.gov.
