Volunteer of the Month: Linda Ervin
by Mel Rubenstein
There are many reasons why belonging to the Rotary Club of Dewitt has been a rewarding experience for me and at the top of the list is getting to know the other members.
For the weekly luncheon meetings (before COVID-19) there are several tables set up to accommodate everyone, but there is no assigned seating. This gives me the opportunity to sit with different people, and get to know them better.
One of those members is Linda Ervin, who I did not know before Rotary. When I began to hear how involved she was in community affairs I did some research and what I found out was breathtaking. That’s why Linda Ervin is featured in this column as Volunteer of the Month.
Ervin was born in Tuckahoe, NY and came to Syracuse to attend Syracuse University where she met Marion, her husband to be. After graduating SU with a BA in psychology she married her husband, moved to DC area while he served in military. Upon returning to Syracuse, and starting a family, she began to work in the real estate business where she was a broker and buyer’s agent for close to 20 years.
In 1999 Linda was elected as member of Jamesville-DeWitt Board of Education where she served for 12 years, including time as president of the board. She is currently a member of the Onondaga County Legislature representing District 17 which covers the western part of DeWitt and the eastern part of Syracuse. She is also the Democratic Floor Leader, serving in her 11th year on the Legislature.
When it comes to volunteering Ervin plays second fiddle to no one. As a youth she volunteered at church and helped teach at vacation Bible school in the summers. Ervin was also a member of Baptist Youth Fellowship and did community service while a member of the Junior Elks. Because of all this, she was inducted in to the National Honor Society while at Tuckahoe High School.
In 2019 Ervin was appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to serve as a member of the Upstate Medical University Advisory Council and is currently working with the council to find a new president for Upstate Medical University.
Ervin is the past president of Jubilee Homes of Syracuse.
“We took the slum blighted area dominated by absentee landlords, cleared it, and built homes for families transforming the area back into the neighborhood it once was,” she said. “Today there are families and needed services in the area again. This has been one of my greatest pleasures.”
Ervinhas served on the boards for many years.
She was also a board member of Home Aides, which is now named “Nascientia.”
This agency provides aides to help people who have medical needs to stay in their homes rather than going into facilities. Nascientia Health Care now provides managed long term care in the Central New York region.
Another way Ervin has served the area is by her board membership in ACTS (Alliance of Communities Transforming Syracuse.) ACTS is a grassroots interfaith network advocating for social justice.
“We are voices striving for a more just and fair community that improves the quality of life for all in Onondaga County,” Ervin said. “Our mission is to come together as people of faith and conscience in working to effect the systemic change necessary to rectify the social, economic, educational, and political inequities that exist in our community.”
InterFaith Works is an agency that affirms the dignity of all people. Representatives of many faiths form the round table of faith leaders.
“We have a senior program which trains and supervises those who work with seniors in nursing homes as senior companions,” Ervin said. “We annually sponsor the Duck Race to end Racism which helps fund our dialogue circles putting people together to learn about each other in an effort to help eradicate racism. The agency is at the forefront of bringing harmony to the community. I’ve served on the board for over five years.”
The National Action Network is one of the many volunteer positions that L Ervin is very proud of.
National Action is an organization which fights for justice for people of color and underserved populations. The founder is Rev. Al Sharpton.
“Our local chapter has been very involved in creating equitable education experiences in the Syracuse City School district,” Ervin said.
Ervin is a mentor for the Lambda Kappa MU Sorority and has worked with the scholarship program for young ladies. The organization provides 4-year scholarships to help young ladies with college expenses. It also recognizes the accomplishments of young students in middle school and high school each year at the annual Youth Achievement Luncheon. This was another highlight in Ervin’s long history in volunteering.
Ervin joined the Rotary Club of Dewitt in 2009 and served as the president from 2018 to 2019. Under her leadership the club continued its maintenance work along the Butternut Creek Trail and had one of it’s most successful pancake days which allowed the club’s Philanthropy Committee to help many organizations in the area.
“We also worked with several other Rotary Clubs on lead education and safety,” Ervin said.
Ervin was instrumental in DeWitt Rotary placing a bronze plaque of the poem, Our Sworn Duty, in the Onondaga County War Memorial.
The poem was written by Dewitt Rotarian, Fred Talbot, who was wounded while serving in France in WWll and returned home on a hospital ship.
Ervin is also an emeritus board member of Catholic Charities of Syracuse, and emeritus board member of Hospice of CNY and has also been involved with Syracuse Chapter Links Inc., Syracuse Chapter Silhouettes of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity inc., the MOST Foundation Board, the League of Women Voters. She is also a member of the Dunbar American Legion Post #1642 Auxiliary and an officer at her church, Hopps Memorial Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Syracuse.
Linda and Marion Ervin live in Jamesville, and whenever she has the time Linda collects bells. “My collection of close to 200 bells includes bells of the places I’ve traveled, those that have meaning for my life’s experiences and those that are gifts, for which I am very thankful,” she said.
To recommend someone with a stellar record of volunteering to be featured in this column contact Mel Rubenstein: [email protected] or call 315-682-7162.
Linda Ervin
