Tampa senior facility's 'Volunteer of the Year' leads Walking Club among other activities

Walking Club encourages exercise at senior facility

At Tampa Baptist Manor, Luis Rivera is Volunteer of the Year for his efforts, which include organizing a Walking Club to help fellow residents stay active.

TAMPA - Luis Rivera and friends know how to have fun while exercising.

"We do this everyday, Monday through Friday," Rivera said.

Rivera lives at Tampa Baptist Manor, a senior care facility. He started a walking club to help fellow residents get exercise and build friendships.

"I love to help people," said Rivera. "That's the way I was. [Grew] up that way. My father and my mother [taught] me."

Thanks to the lessons that his parents taught him, he's been volunteering at Baptist Manor for eight years. From leading the walking club and chair yoga to setting up lunch tables, you can always find Luis giving a helping hand.

"When I came here, they asked me if I would be a volunteer, and I said 'yeah.' I've been doing it since, and I really love, I love helping people. I like to have people know," Rivera explained.

"He goes above and beyond," said Taylor Winter, Center Coordinator Tampa Baptist Manor. "I don't have to ask him to do anything. And he's already doing it, and he tries to get the clients all involved in the activities that we do on a daily basis."

His walking partners agree.

"He's the number one worker in the Tampa Apartments," said Arturo Lorenzo, Tampa Baptist Manor Resident. "He does everything."

"He takes care of the lunches. He takes care of the people, takes care of everything. He's a great person, very, very helpful," said Brigida Vargas, Tampa Baptist Manor resident. "He helps everybody. Very, very nice."

For all his hard work, Hillsborough County Aging Services named Luis their Volunteer of the Year.

"I didn't think I deserved it, but it made me feel good," said Rivera. "People appreciate what I'm doing. And God always says help your neighbors. And that means that I do help them. Yeah."

"I think that's one thing that makes him really incredible is because senior isolation is a big deal, and he wants to get everybody out of their houses and do things around here, such as the walking club," Winter said.

Rivera is helping to improve the lives of seniors one step at a time.

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