Maria Victoria Salcedo, of Bay Shore, recognized for volunteer work with Pronto LI
Maria Victoria Salcedo, a volunteer at Pronto Long Island’s Senior Program and Client Choice Program, was recently named Nonprofit Volunteer of the Year by Suffolk County Legislator Tom Donnelly. Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
A Bay Shore woman has been recognized for her volunteer work with an organization providing food and personal care items for neighbors in need.
Maria Victoria Salcedo, 55, has spent the past four years helping others through her work with Pronto of Long Island, a Bay Shore-based community outreach center and food pantry operating since 1969. For her efforts, she was named Nonprofit Volunteer of the Year in the district represented by Suffolk County Legis. Tom Donnelly (D-Deer Park). The designation came during the legislature’s nonprofit volunteer appreciation month in November.
Salcedo helps senior citizens with everything from walking to the restroom to eating lunch as part of Pronto’s Senior Program, and she helps serve food to local families one evening a week as part of Pronto’s Client Choice Food Pantry. She also speaks Spanish, the language spoken by about 98% of the center’s residents, according to Pronto.
“I was in total disbelief and was so honored, because it’s a reminder of what I do for the community,” Salcedo said of the award, speaking through a translator. Of her passion for volunteering, she said: “I know that there are a lot of people who have needs and need help, and I really love to give back.”
Salcedo, who left behind her family in Ecuador to come to the United States in 2017 and initially lived in Queens before relocating to Suffolk County, said she has spent time working as a housekeeper in local homes and hotels. She got involved with Pronto in 2021 after stopping in to the center one day because she said she noticed a lot of people there whenever she would pass by and was curious.
Salcedo’s other activities at Pronto include helping build its Senior Program into a weekly Senior Social Program, consisting of activities ranging from art classes to live music, according to the outreach center.
“Maria is an awesome human being,” said Millie Colon, a volunteer recruiter and office manager at Pronto. “She’s been where a lot of us have been, and she’s only trying to give back to her community and feel good about it. We’re very proud to have her here.”
Donnelly said it was a “privilege to honor” Salcedo as his 2024 Nonprofit Volunteer of the Year.
“Ms. Salcedo’s unwavering commitment to serving seniors and families in need is truly inspiring,” Donnelly said in a statement. “Her kindness, generosity and hard work have made an incredible impact on our community.”
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
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