Marilyn Blake, California Retired Teachers Association
Vacaville
If you can read this letter, maybe you should thank a teacher. The week of Nov. 4-10 was California Retired Teachers Week, and we all owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to those teachers who not only taught us but shaped our youth.
Even out of the classroom, retired teachers continue to have a positive influence on our community. Retired teachers are probably our most stalwart volunteers. Here in Solano County in 2011, we totaled 26,732 hours of volunteer activities working for food banks, English language tutoring, cultural events, schools, museums, hospitals, police departments, churches and other community organizations. Using common values for such services, this is a gift of $534,680 to the community.