Lynsie McIlhinney is always the first person to lend a helping hand to her fellow community members. She will show up with a smile on her face and a tray full of homemade baked goods and she does it all out of the goodness of her heart. The Middletown Prevention Coalition (MPC) would like to congratulate and give their most heartfelt “thank you” to Lynsie, who recently received an award for her volunteer work in supporting the local military community.
Lynsie, a student intern at the Middletown Prevention Coalition (MPC), was nominated by an MPC coworker to receive the award, which was presented at the Volunteering Veterans Award Breakfast in Providence, on Saturday, Nov. 2. This first annual Volunteering Veterans breakfast was established by Providence Mayor Angel Taveras’ Healthy Communities Office in order to recognize and share the work that local volunteers such as Lynsie are doing to benefit and improve the lives of military families and veterans. According to Chris Creech, the VetCorps Prevention Coordinator for the Healthy Communities Office, “there is a lack of community-wide awareness of organizations and individuals serving the military and veteran population. The Volunteering Veterans Awards Breakfast was a stage to showcase the efforts of those striving to make positive change for Rhode Island veterans and their families.” Among the breakfast’s honorees, fellow veterans, and their families were Kim Ripoli, Associate Director of R.I. Veterans Affairs, and keynote speaker Kathryn Power M. Ed., SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) Regional Administrator.
Middletown Prevention Coalition has been fortunate enough to have Lynsie as part of their team, where she helps the coalition to create a safe, healthy and drug-free Middletown. MPC also has a specific initiative to outreach to the military population in town, and Lynsie has been especially helpful in this effort. However, that is only a small part of Lynsie’s tireless work in the military family community. As a Navy spouse, she has serves as a volunteer at her husband John’s command and hosts holiday dinners for active duty sailors and their families who are far from loved ones. Lynsie also facilitates the Newport RI Military Spouses Facebook page as well as an online support forum for other military spouses. These pages are a place for military spouses to find local support and resources. Lynsie is also a mother of two children and has two dogs, and volunteers with her daughter’s Girl Scout troop.
