South Coastal Village Volunteers

From Bingo to Funerals at the SCVV Book Club

A quartet of book club members—Clair Fox, Ferne Cooper, Joan Doody, and Sally Scarengella—display their current reading, including the March club selection.
The SCVV book club babes met in March and enjoyed an exciting game of bingo to go along with the discussion of the book of the month: The River We Remember by William Kruger. Our readers thought that the character development was effective and added depth to the story. Interestingly, each character had major flaws that added twists and turns to the plot.

In April the club had an extended discussion about Gayden Metcalfe’s Being Dead Is No Excuse. Just about everyone concluded that the book was a funny, enjoyable read, providing lessons on how different cultures gather for funerals. Traditional recipes for foods that are usually brought to funeral observances were an added bonus. If we had thought about it ahead of time, we each could have chosen a recipe from the book to make and bring to the meeting.

In May the book is The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. For June we will read Abandoned Homes: Vietnam Revenge Murders by Frank Hopkins. That month the meeting will include lunch in a restaurant in Berlin, where we will discuss which books to read for the rest of 2025. September’s book will be The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

We are looking for some new members to join this fun club. We meet once a month and have interesting discussions, great conversations, and delicious appetizers to share. If you are interested, contact Liz Bolton at lizbeachbum@gmail.com.

A Word from the Chair

Every month (or nearly), I have the privilege of attending a meeting with four of the most caring people I know. We meet to talk about our members and how they are doing. We discuss each person, some briefly and others at length.

Summer Traffic is Coming!

As homeowners and businesses begin to prepare for the visitor season, traffic has already increased. Past history tells us that on Fridays during the summer, traffic is gridlocked and our volunteers are busy with house guests and activities. Last year, with your cooperation, we tried to avoid the Friday traffic congestion from June through mid-September.

Cottage Tour Hosts Needed

SCVV is excited to support the South Coastal Library’s 2025 Beach & Bay Cottage Tour. We will be sponsoring one of the seven homes that will be open for in-person tours on July 23 and 24. This is a fantastic opportunity to help raise funds for our local library while also sharing information about SCVV.

Next Dine & Donate

June 2 – Big Fish Grill

Long & Foster is proud to partner with the South Coastal Village Volunteers to help raise funds for this much-needed service to our community. In collaboration with the Big Fish Grill in Ocean View, SCVV will benefit from a Dine & Donate on Monday, June 2, from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Huge Tax Day Turnout

Dine & Donate at Northeast Seafood Kitchen

From the opening at 4:00 p.m. until the last diners at 9:00 p.m. on April 15, Northeast Seafood Kitchen was packed with supporters of the South Coastal Village Volunteers—as well as with other customers looking for a good dinner. Thanks to the generosity of Northeast Seafood in donating a portion of its revenues for the evening, SCVV increased the funds used to support our programs.

SCVV Spreads the Word at the Addy Sea Spring Soiree

The South Coastal Village Volunteers was invited to participate in the Addy Sea’s annual spring benefit for the Bethany Beach Volunteer Fire Department. This year’s event, held on April 27, marked the third time that SCVV was invited to have an information table.

Sixty Spring/Easter Baskets Delivered

The Sweets and Sunshine Committee gathered on April 8 to make more than sixty spring/Easter baskets for SCVV members. The group included Ferne Cooper, Lori Gentry, Jan Gibson, Michele Bell, Liz Bolton, Melanie Lincoln, and Rosemary Murray. Nancy Main hosted the gathering.

Member Spotlight: Louise Carey

“My dream was always to live at the beach,” muses Louise Carey, who celebrated her 99th birthday in early April. Raised in Wilmington, Delaware, Helen Louise Otto spent her summers with her grandmother in Ventnor, New Jersey.

T-Shirts Are Ready to Wear

This spring you will notice many of our volunteers wearing new SCVV T-shirts and polo shirts, like the one modeled above by Steve Ricks in our Ocean View office.

Pretzels Anyone?

Our member Frannie Moyer stopped by the SCVV office—and dropped off both the heartfelt note at left and enough soft pretzels to feed an army of hungry volunteers! We all thank Frannie for bringing joy. And pretzels.

Volunteer Spotlight: Diane Maddex

Joan Gordon

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Over the last year, Diane Maddex has quietly taken over one function of the South Coastal Village Volunteers’ communications after another: posting Facebook notifications, liaising with our website manager, and contributing to and now designing and producing the newsletter.

Do More 24

WE DID IT! Not only did we meet our goal, but we surpassed it. Your donations to South Coastal Village Volunteers came to $5,020.