Volunteers are at the core of what we do at HOPE. We’re celebrating National Volunteer Week by hyping up some of the incredible volunteers in our HOPE squad.
Join us in learning about Mary Ellen, our Treasurer, and an absolute volunteering TITAN!
Questions and answers have been edited for clarity.
What got you interested in volunteering at HOPE?
It's Laura, our current executive director. She’s my favorite executive director ever - and I’ve worked with quite a few. I went for an interview when I applied for the very first time to be a volunteer for the HOPE Planning Team. And she just made me feel so welcome and so wanting to be part of it. She really embodied the whole spirit of what volunteering is and what being committed to a cause is. Her energy is what said to me, “you have to get involved."
You’re currently our Treasurer? Did you start out as a finance volunteer?
No, it was an opportunity to be a part of the Planning Team. So I went in for an interview with Laura and that's when I started in Scorekeeping.
Oh, you started in Scorekeeping?
Yes, I did. I loved it. I LOVED it!
Can you tell us a fun story about your time volunteering with HOPE?
Well probably the best experience we ever had was we did a winter shoot and we went down to Mooney’s Bay, and there was tons of snow. We made snow angels and someone brought a drone, and then filmed us making snow angels. [It] was to raise awareness for one of the charities. There were about 15 or 20 of us, but then we got stuck in the snow... and then tried not to ruin our snow angels... while being stuck in the snow. It was more of a comedy of errors than anything.
Do you volunteer anywhere else?
Annually, I do anything Dragon Boat related. But I also do Mud Girl which is a female empowerment mud race. I’m also involved in any of the race weekends, handing out water. I do a lot of work for figure skating and I'm an official in figure skating, so I'm judging most weekends.
What advice would you give someone who is thinking about volunteering at HOPE?
Definitely give it a shot. Like, definitely give it a shot. I would just say it's a different way of giving back to the community. And it's a fun way of giving back to the community.
Thank you, Mary Ellen, for being a part of the HOPE family!
Join our volunteering squad! hopehelps.com/volunteer
