Where do you volunteer? Please list everything you do past and present.

Currently, I’m a member of the Greenwood Conservation Commission, a part of the team that cleans and organizes the Greenwood and Woodstock Transfer Station Swap Shop, do trail work with the team that upkeeps the Buck’s Ledge Community Forest, and do the annual roadside clean up in Greenwood.

A few of my past volunteer endeavors include lending a hand in public schools, coaching basketball, sorting and shelving at a nonprofit thrift shop, cleaning cages at an SPCA, supporting Army families through the Family Support Group, providing family-style meals to single soldiers, being a member of the Greenwood Fire Department Auxiliary, and helping to organize a local Out of the Darkness Walk put on by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. I’ve also had the opportunity to help with food prep and serving in shelters in Portland. One of my earliest volunteer experiences was in high school when I played with the Telstar Jazz Band at local nursing homes.

What inspires you to volunteer?

I’m blessed to be part of a community that I love. Through generations of example, I saw that holding that community up and making it the best it can be requires people doing all the things that need to be done. I love seeing something I’ve had a hand in add to the quality of my community.

Do you or did you have a paid career, too? If so, could you talk about it?

No paid career at this time. I’ve done many things; store clerk, childcare, worked in schools, been a direct support professional.

What brought you to volunteerism?

What brings me to volunteerism is, I think, what brings everyone: when opportunity and interest line up with personal resources. I volunteered with the SPCA originally because my daughter needed volunteer hours to fulfill graduation requirements. I tagged along and fell in love with the chaos of a very active animal shelter.

What basic skills do you need to do your volunteer work?

First of all, there are a lot of people doing the very same things I’m doing, and we have some very different skill sets. The one skill I think we all have in common is the ability to understand what’s needed. Then it’s just a matter of throwing your time and energy into making it happen.

Looking ahead what plans do you have regarding your volunteerism?

I’ll keep using the ‘interest and opportunity meet personal resources’ formula and trust it to keep leading me to new experiences.

Please feel free to add anything else you would like.

My volunteer opportunities, current and past, help me strengthen, define, and build skill sets. I’ve learned a ton in the last year about networking to solve problems. For instance, I almost always have another solution to offer someone when the item they want to leave at the Swap Shop can’t be accepted. If I don’t immediately have the answer, I have a list of people and organizations I can turn to to help me find the answer. It’s a great circle; the volunteer work led to skill development and connections that led to a better ability to do the volunteer work.