Green Bay Woman Wins AARP Wisconsin's Highest Volunteer Award

Green Bay resident Libbie Miller was awarded with AARP Wisconsin’s highest honor – the “2013 Andrus Award for Community Service” – at a ceremony July 26 at the Congregation Cnesses Israel in Green Bay. The award is AARP’s most prestigious volunteer award for community service.

“This award symbolizes that individuals like Libbie have the power and ability to make a difference in the lives of others,” said Mariann Muzzi, who coordinates the Andrus Award program for the AARP Wisconsin office in Madison. “You can see by the long list of Libbie’s community involvement and accomplishments – which span more than six decades – that she is a pillar of her community.”

Miller, 85, is a true inspiration to others, according to Muzzi. She has had direct service and leadership roles with the Alzheimer’s Association, Housing for the Disabled, ADRC of Brown County, and Cerebral Palsy Center and Family Services. She is active with the Congregation Cnesses Israel, her synagogue sisterhood, Green Bay Chapter of Hadassah, the Jewish Welfare Committee and many more organizations.

As part of the honor, Libbie was given the opportunity to select an organization to receive a $500 donation from AARP. She chose to give the donation to three Green Bay organizations – the Aging & Disability Resource Center of Brown County, the Congregation Cnesses Israel, and the Chabad of the Bay Area.

“We are so pleased to be able to honor Libbie for her lifetime commitment to helping others. She is truly one in a million,” Muzzi said. “AARP recognizes and highly values the spirit of volunteerism, as well as the important contributions that a volunteer like Libbie makes to her community.”

Recipients of the Andrus Award (named after AARP founder Ethel Percy Andrus) in each state across the nation were chosen for their ability to enhance the lives of AARP members and prospective members, improve the community in which the work was performed, and inspire others to volunteer.

Leah Abrahams of Green Bay nominated her good friend Libbie for the award. Abrahams and Miller have served on various committees together for more than 40 years.

“Libbie Miller is a living and breathing poster lady for volunteerism,” Abrahams said. “The breadth and depth of Libbie’s concern for others is reflected in her unflagging, ongoing volunteer activities for more than 60 years.

“On a personal level, one only need ask: is someone sick? Libbie is first with food and offers of help. Is someone homeless? Libbie invites that person into her home. Did someone fall? Libbie is first in line with her famous Mandelbrot cookies and an offer of a massage or advice on aching muscles,” Abrahams said.

Today, at 85, Libbie is actively teaching exercise classes to seniors, teaching a class to people with arthritis, learning new techniques to work with people who suffer from arthritis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. She teaches Hebrew to members of her congregation and raises money for the poor.

“The broader Green Bay community is richer for the volunteer efforts of Libbie Miller,” said Abrahams, who wouldn’t get an argument from anyone who has crossed Libbie’s path over the years.