Contra Costa Senior Legal Services works with many amazing volunteers, all of whom do important work and allow us to serve more seniors. In honor of National Volunteer Month this April, we’d like to spotlight the contributions of one of our committed volunteers, Sora O’Doherty. Sora has been a volunteer with CCSLS since 2016. She volunteers both in our office and out of our office at our legal clinics.
Sora is very dedicated to CCSLS. She had always done volunteer work when possible and her desire to help others led her to CCSLS after she retired. She arrives at our office every Wednesday ready to help. She answers phones, assists with intakes of new clients and gives referrals to seniors in need of services that we cannot provide. Sora is patient and kind, helping callers feel heard and supported.
In addition to providing support in our office, Sora often volunteers as an Attorney and Notary at several of our legal clinics around the county often stepping in on short notice and staying late to help clients. Sora provides very thorough and thoughtful legal guidance to her clients.
Through volunteering, Sora seeks to help others. She is inspired by the Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam (Hebrew for “world repair”), which has come to connote social action and the pursuit of social justice. She also believes that volunteering is good for the volunteer as well. As she put it, “We live in difficult times, and it is easy to be depressed by the state of the world. But, as it is said, it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. Helping, or even trying to help, is better than cursing the darkness around us. We lift ourselves up when we strive to uplift others.”
The volunteer support that Sora gives to CCSLS has provided huge benefits to Contra Costa County elders. Thank you Sora for all of your hard work and dedication!