The Town Council had praise for the hundreds of volunteers who serve the Town of Fountain Hills during a presentation at the Aug. 25 council meeting.

“We are thankful for out volunteers, they are the heartbeat of our town,” Mayor Jay Schlum. “You really make our town terrific, thank you very much for what you do.”

Councilman Keith McMahan echoed those comments.

“From the very earliest days of development, volunteers have been the strength and heart of Fountain Hills,” McMahan said.

Heather Ware, volunteer coordinator for the town, made the presentation and outlined the efforts of the volunteers working with the town.

“There is a proud tradition in this country of neighbor helping neighbor,” Ware said. “There are a number of opportunities for volunteer service with the Town of Fountain Hills.

“Helping out gives people the opportunity to exercise their body, brain and their heart.”

Those opportunities range from sitting at the front desk at Town Hall or the Community Center directing visitors to offering assistance to people impacted by a personal emergency on the Crisis Activated Response Effort (CARE) team.

There are dozens of other opportunities to help out.

During the first six months of 2008 the town’s nearly 450 volunteers have put in 6,430 hours, saving the town nearly $117,000. Volunteer hours are calculated at $18.17 per hour in Arizona based on data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A sampling of the hours put in for some departments shows 1,704 hours for Home Delivered Meals, 1,045 hours for Senior Services, 1,023 hours for administration, 425 hours at the Community Center, 300 hours by CARE volunteers for the Fire Department and Sheriff’s Office and 60 hours in the municipal court.

The Parks and Recreation Department received 1,873 hours in volunteer help working with various events and programs organized by the town Parks Department.

Anyone interested in learning more about the volunteer opportunities with the Town of Fountain Hills may contact Ware at 480-816-5108 or by e-mail at hware@fh.az.gov.