Editor’s Note: This series recognizes people who make a difference in their communities. To nominate someone, call Wendy Victora at 315-4478 or email wvictora@nwfdailynews.com
SANTA ROSA BEACH — Kay Scibbe doesn’t think of volunteering as work.
The 93-year-old woman has volunteered weekly at the South Walton Library and Caring for Sharing for more than 20 years.
“I can’t just sit on my rear end all day,” Scibbe said. “I worked, raised five kids and then retired. If you retire, your day consists of sitting, reading and watching TV. That will drive you crazy after a week.
“You’ll get sick, old, everything hurts because you’re doing nothing.”
One of Scibbe’s proudest accomplishments is helping to start the Friends of the Library and bringing the South Walton community a library. Before, the closest library was in DeFuniak Springs.
“I started volunteering at the Destin library and decided we needed one in South Walton,” Scibbe said. “There were a lot of retired people here who wanted to read. It took a lot of work, but many, many years later we built the library.”
Today, Scibbe still spends one day a week at the library assisting visitors and sorting books.
Scibbe’s other volunteer work is with Caring and Sharing. Each Friday, she comes in to sort and price clothes while chatting with the other volunteers.
“It does such really wonderful work. Many people don’t think about poor people in a resort community. But this helps so many people and I’m honored to be a part of it.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Angel McCurdy at 850-315-4432 or amccurdy@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @AngelMnwfdn.