Mother’s Day is every day for moms, daughters and sons who do volunteer work together

For many, Mother’s Day means getting a card, candy and quality time spent with the children. But some mothers get to spend quality time with their kids all year long by volunteering together.

Summerlin-area resident Karyn Finlayson and her 24-year-old daughter, Chelsey, volunteer together for T he Animal Foundation . They foster newborn kittens, keeping them until they reach 2 pounds, a size when they can be vaccinated, spayed or neutered and put up for adoption.

They also go to the animal shelter at 655 N. Mojave Road to exercise and socialize dogs ready for adoption.

Karyn Finlayson said a snapshot moment she’ll always remember of volunteering is bringing kittens home and lying on the floor nearby to watch them step out of the box and explore. They eventually curled up next to her daughter and herself. It is, she said, a special moment that comes from their volunteering together.

“My friends really envy the closeness we have,” she said.

Chelsey Finlayson said volunteering provides quality time with her mother but that her mother is “obsessed” about helping out and will go the extra mile whenever needed.

“We share moments that make us laugh ... I see how much effort she puts into it and I respect (her),” she said. “It’s brought us closer.”

Faye Alman and her 42-year-old daughter, Stephanie Singer, both of Summerlin, volunteered their time and energy together as Singer was growing up. They’ve planted trees, collected bread and helped feed the hungry at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Volunteering not only provided a way to spend time together but also to grow as people .

“I see her in a different way, not just as my daughter,” Alman said.

These days, their schedules are different, but each volunteers at Summerlin Hospital Medical Center, 657 N. Town Center Drive , where they work the front desk, deliver flowers to patients and sell donated paperbacks for a buck or two.

Now that Singer has young children of her own, she’s passing on the charity gene. She takes them with her when she volunteers at Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada’s dining facility .

Leslie Carmine, Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada communications director , said she likes seeing youngsters and their mothers volunteer side by side at the nonprofit group’s St. Vincent Lied Dining Facility, 1502 N. Main St .

“It’s a meaningful experience for the family and a big help to us ... It touches your heart to see them doing something together for someone they don’t know,” she said.

Phyllis Hendrickson and her daughter, Wendy, 54, began volunteering together through Girl Scouts of the USA. Later, both volunteered for the Mesquite Club and for the Assistance League of Las Vegas .

Hendrickson said she was glad for the time spent with her daughter.

“They grow up so fast, when I look back now … it seems like she was just born,” she said.

Volunteering is nothing new to Cindy Lou Wooten of North Las Vegas. Neither is involving her children, son Jeremy, 25, and daughter Sarah, 18.

Over the years, the three have helped the American Red Cross and volunteered for various school and community projects. Lately, it’s been the American Cancer Society. Wooten is a five-year breast cancer survivor.

Wooten said many memories come with volunteering over the years — laughing as they flipped burgers at a fund raiser and dropping a couple of the patties and eating the candy bars they were entrusted with selling.

On Saturday , the three will be at Rancho High School, 1900 Searles Ave., for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life event .

“I feel it’s important for families to do as much as they can together,” Wooten said. “You never know when somebody won’t be there.”

It’s not just mothers and daughters and sons who team up to help others. Sometimes it skips a generation.

In 2003, after Sharon Milano’s husband was diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, her granddaughter stepped up to make a difference. Though then only 15, Nitsa Gianakoulias organized a group from her gymnastics school and friends for a 5K fund raiser.

The s outhwest Las Vegas youngster relied on her grandmother’s help to organize a team of 86 and raise money — roughly $5,000 that first year. It required extra effort, as Milano lives in Henderson.

What did Milano learn about her granddaughter through volunteering?

“I was surprised at the depth of her compassion at that age,” Milano said. “She took the initiative to do something in his honor.”

Frank Milano died of ALS in 2004. Since his death, the pair has continued to raise money for the organization. To date, they’ve raised more than $50,000. It’s became such a passion that, now that Gianakoulias is 23, both serve on the board of the local ALS chapter .

Gianakoulias said it has made her even closer to her grandmother.

“It’s like we’re best friends,” she said. “We tell each other everything.”

Contact Summerlin and Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 387-2949.