Natick Volunteer Wins Myra Kraft Community MVP Award
Procter & Gamble’s VP of Grooming, North America, John Claughton (far left), Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft and Patriots and Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Tippett congratulate Robert “Jerry” Dunn of Natick, MA, for being selected as a 2022 Myra Kraft Community MVP Award winner. During the June 8 luncheon, the Kraft family, the Patriots Foundation and Gillette awarded $275,000 in grants to 26 New England nonprofits. Care Dimensions received a $10,000 grant in honor of Dunn’s volunteer efforts. (photo courtesy of Eric J. Adler/New England Patriots) Courtesy photo
Care Dimensions veteran-to-veteran hospice volunteer Robert “Jerry” Dunn of Natick, MA, was honored this month by the New England Patriots Foundation as a 2022 Myra Kraft Community MVP Award winner for outstanding volunteerism.
After Dunn’s wife died unexpectedly in 1998 at the age of 52, friends, neighbors, and people Dunn didn’t know offered to help him and his three children.
“This is when I learned how important support is for grieving people,” Dunn said. “If I didn’t have anyone to help me, I would have had a very difficult time. I wanted to give back. I facilitated a bereavement group and in 2011, I became a hospice volunteer with Care Dimensions.”
A U.S. Navy veteran, Dunn volunteers six hours a week to visit and support veterans on hospice.
“I served as a petty officer second class in the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1972,” said Dunn. “I decided I wanted to devote my hospice volunteering time to other veterans. Whatever service you were in, it’s like a brotherhood.
“When I first meet a patient, I say I’m a Navy vet and visit vets wherever they live,” Dunn continued. “I ask them about their family first, then their service. I focus the discussion on what they like so I can learn how to support them. Most open up after the first few visits. Sometimes they share stories about their military service that they’ve never told their family. Any time I can help a veteran, then that’s the brotherhood at its very best. I love doing it.”
Dunn was one of 26 winners to receive the award at a luncheon at Gillette Stadium. More than 250 applications for the award were received from nonprofit organizations throughout New England.
The New England Patriots Foundation is donating $10,000 to Care Dimensions in Dunn’s name as part of the $275,000 it awarded to nonprofits represented by the 26 winners.
“There are so many people doing great things in our communities. It restores all faith in humanity,” said Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft. “We enjoyed reviewing this year’s applications and selecting the 26 dedicated individuals that are helping to make the world a better place.”
