Montgomery Serves Awards 2021

​There are volunteers and there are super volunteers.  Nancy Aldous of Laytonsville falls in that latter category. 

Nancy’s path to volunteering in Montgomery County began in 1969, when her young family moved to Damascus and she joined the League of Women Voters. Next, she volunteered with Damascus Help—answering phone calls, driving clients to medical appointments, and fundraising.   

Nancy’s volunteer portfolio increased as she added work with a civic association, PTA involvement, and volunteering with her children’s activities.  She joined the Damascus Library Advisory Committee and advocated for more resources and a dedicated library building. 

After a friend died in an alcohol-related crash, Nancy began working on DUI and DWI issues at the county and state level. She participated in an ad hoc committee created by the Montgomery County government to change Maryland DWI laws.  Nancy mentored student groups working to establish Students Against Drunk Drivers chapters. She helped Maryland’s League of Women Voters create a study on drunk driving. These efforts were effective in getting new laws passed. 

Reading and books are among Nancy’s lifelong passions. The county executive appointed her as Upper County Representative of the Montgomery County Library Advisory Board. After leaving that position, she became a board member of Citizens for Maryland Libraries, a statewide advocacy group. 

In the 1980s and 1990s Nancy volunteered with the Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting of Friends. Through the League of Women Voters, she answered questions about a new recycling program. She served on the Keep Montgomery County Beautiful campaign and sat on the Master Planning Committee for Damascus. 

Concerned about the wellbeing of Montgomery County’s homeless, Nancy was part of a group that championed the move of a house from another Damascus location to the grounds of St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, enabling the parish to use it for transitional housing. The Dwelling Place was chosen to manage and care for the house and the residents, so Nancy became a volunteer for that organization, and served on the board and as board chair.  

In recent years, Nancy has volunteered with Red Wiggler Community Farm, the Sandy Spring Museum, and Community Reach of Montgomery County.  She is the person who always responds when an organization needs a helping hand, even on short notice.  

At Reach, Nancy helps with organizing the Thanksgiving and December Holiday Giving Programs. She sorts and organizes paperwork for program directors, transports housing program clients, volunteers at fundraisers, and is involved in advocacy.  Since 2017, she has been a teacher’s assistant for the nonprofit's English as a Second Language program.  

Nancy has served Montgomery County as a volunteer for over 50  years. Montgomery County and its residents have reaped the benefits of her leadership, creativity, and energy.  
 

—Nominated by Andrea Kempner-Wink