Volunteer
Volunteers provide a wide range of valuable services to our organization. From mentoring to marketing, or special events planning to office support, volunteers are important and wonderful contributors to the success of Connection Generations and its programs. While we benefit greatly from their commitment and enthusiasm, our volunteers tell us they also gain or improve valuable skills and feel a sense of satisfaction about supporting such an important mission as ours. Here are highlights of our volunteers, past and present, whose time and efforts have helped to better our organization and the communities we serve.
Read about our volunteer mentors here
Marilyn Whorl Marilyn has been a dedicated volunteer for over forty-five years. Connecting Generations has been fortunate to have her service since the fall of 2008, helping with the Creative Mentoring program and fund development. Marilyn says she feels at home working with the people in the organization and that she values the project of bringing children and adults together. The mother of three daughters, she took an interest in children outside of her home in the 1960's, becoming a Girl Scout Leader for seven years. Her volunteer history also includes work with women patients at the Governor Bacon Health Center and work for the FISH organization and more than 12 years of service at the Ronald McDonald House of Delaware . Marilyn continues to serve Connecting Generations on a regular basis and her work and enthusiasm are greatly appreciated!
Connecting Generations staff nominated Marilyn for the RSVP Outstanding Service Award in May 2009. She was recognized at their annual event along with seven other distinguished volunteers.
Sarah Robbins
Sarah Robbins worked as one of our communications interns this past spring. She recently graduated from the University of Delaware Magna Cum Laude with an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications. Sarah says she learned a lot during her time at Connecting-Generations and plans to use her acquired skills in the future. She especially enjoyed working on the first ever e-newsletter and hopes it will inspire other non-profits to go green! At the University of Delaware, Sarah was involved in many different facets of campus life. She was a Blue Hen Ambassador, Secretary of Lambda Pi Eta Honors Society and on the council of Alpha Xi Delta sorority. She is currently looking for employment and plans on attending graduate school in the near future.
Bernice Man
Bernice is a sophomore at the University of Delaware, working on a Communications major and Music Management minor. Bernice is actively involved on campus, including serving as the VP of membership for her sorority and producing the student television show, The BiWeekly Show. She is from Seaford, Long Island where she graduated from Seaford High School 5th in her class. Bernice began as a volunteer in the fall of 2008 and spent spring semester 2009 as a Communications Intern. She says she enjoyed the experience working with the Director of Communications and the rest of the Connecting Generations staff and she gained valuable experience in marketing and public relations. Bernice worked on writing newsletter articles, press releases, and PSAs; event planning; media relations; and starting the Connecting Generations Facebook page. We thank Bernice for her hard work and commitment to Connecting Generations and hope she'll return again next semester!
The "A" Team
The
"A" Team included Allison Shields, Alana Katzen, Alexa Geistman
and Alexandra Kiernan, four Communications majors at the
University of Delaware who signed on to do a case study of
Connecting Generations and to prepare a
Public Relations plan for our use as part of their
COMM409 coursework during
spring semester 2009. They worked
closely with the Director of Communications and provided many valuable suggestions as well as a calendar of activities and
sample materials for the Communications Department. We
hope some of the "A"s will come back next semester to help us
implement some of their suggestions.
Noelle Richardson
Noelle volunteered for Connecting Generations during fall of 2008 into the winter of 2009. Noelle helped with marketing and prepared for our annual fundraising event ‘Jazz in January.’ She also worked the night of the event to help make it a success. Born in Dallas, raised in Denver, and later a graduate from Middletown High School, Noelle is interested in helping people teach each other. She hopes to work in the non-profit sector and is eager to learn as much as she can. Noelle is also involved in The Youth Service Initiative and The Jefferson Awards at Middletown High School. We are grateful to Noelle for her enthusiasm and commitment!
Laurie Shaw
Laurie joined the Connecting Generations family in July 2008 and was a huge help with processing mentor applications and updating recruitment materials. We can’t thank Laurie enough for her enthusiasm and willingness to jump in wherever needed. Laurie is a native Delawarean and shares three children with her husband, Chuck, who was her high school sweetheart. After taking time off from her career in the nonprofit sector, Laurie decided to start volunteering when her youngest child was starting her last year of high school. Laurie’s family has a history of volunteerism: her mother was a Creative Mentor at Shortlidge Academy in Wilmington for years. Laurie was excited to discover that her new volunteer efforts would support an organization that had been such an important part of her mom’s life and we were delighted to be connecting the generations in her family!
Your time and talents are invaluable. Whether you'd like to work directly with a as a mentor, serve on a committee or the Board of Directors, provide professional services, help with behind-the-scenes planning or clerical work, there is a place for you at Connecting Generations.
To learn about volunteering at Connecting Generations, contact Jacki Shanebrook, Development and Communications Coordinator, at jshanebrook@connecting-generations.org or 302.656.2122 ext. 12.
