South Coastal Village Volunteers

Volunteer Spotlight: Clair Fox

Clair Fox learned about SCVV at the annual boardwalk arts festival. She signed up in 2023—and has been an active volunteer ever since.

After moving to the beach, Fox volunteered for the Lions Club, providing Meals on Wheels with her daughter until Covid descended. She also worked with her church, St. Anne’s, and her HOA. “I was still looking for something, then I found the South Coastal Village Volunteers!” she says. At first she took members to appointments, did errands such as grocery shopping, and visited members in their homes.

Today Fox concentrates on two activities: reviewing applications from potential volunteers sent by the Village Volunteers in Lewes (called volunteer outreach) and assisting one of SCVV’s nonagenarian members, Lenore Thommes. Three days a week—originally five—Fox picks up her client and drives her to St. Anne’s, including for 7:30 a.m. mass, unless bad weather keeps Thommes at home. “Volunteering doesn’t take a lot of time and the members are so appreciative,” she says. “It helps people stay in their homes.”

Fox herself remains an altar server at St. Anne’s. In her spare time, she loves to read, including with the SCVV book club. Good mysteries are a special treat. She is also planning a family reunion here this summer with her daughter, Erin, and her son, Tristan. “I feel gratified that I’ve done something good. That is very important to me,” confesses Fox. “I’m paying it forward. Some day I may need these services!”

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

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.