Gerald Patton taking his grandson, Jaycen, to the polls during midterm elections.
As YCV continues highlighting volunteers during Volunteer Appreciation Month, we wanted to introduce you to Gerald Patton. Gerald has been volunteering with us for the past year and a half. He is someone who learned about the resources YCV provides for the community through his friend and fellow volunteer, Merl Jones. Both men graduated from NCCU and met through an alumni chapter.
Gerald said when he heard about the volunteer opportunity at YCV, he felt it would be the perfect way to continue giving back to the Charlotte area.
“It was something that I had the passion to do since I retired 18 months ago. I always wanted to be involved in civic and community engagement, particularly as it has to do with the right to vote,” Gerald said. “It checked all the boxes for me.”
For Gerald, being civically involved is a characteristic that was instilled in him as a young man by his parents.
“Just seeing my parents always involved in the process, always voting, never missing an election, making sure that once we turned of age, that we did the same thing,” he said.
He now carries that torch to the younger generations in his family. He even took his grandson to the polls during the last midterm election. He says he wanted him to be there as a symbolic message so that he will continue to head to the polls when he becomes of age.
Gerld said his favorite part about volunteering is going to register second-chance voters at local detention centers. He said it reminds him that there Is hope and light at the end of the tunnel.
