As the Volunteer Manager of Care & Share Thrift Shoppes, my role extends beyond the walls of our shoppes and workrooms. I am an actively engaged member of both The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Montgomery County and the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce. These two Chambers provide numerous opportunities for me to meet new people and businesses as well as spread the word about Care & Share, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), and our mission. Every event that I attend has the potential to lead to new customers, new donors, and most importantly, new volunteers.
I serve on committees that align with MCC’s missions of promoting service and peace within the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Montgomery County. I joined the Inclusion Council last year to help promote diversity and equal opportunities within the Chamber and its organizations. I am also entering into my second year of serving on the Business with a Purpose, Young Professionals’ Committee that helps to support the 80+ nonprofits in the Chamber. We offer volunteer events to Chamber members as well as provide opportunities for young professionals to network and learn through quarterly educational programs. I was recently asked by the Chamber to take on the role of co-chair of the Young Professionals Committee, which I very graciously accepted.
I also serve on the Advisory Board and Board Development Committee for Wellspring Clubhouse by Penn Foundation. They provide services for those that suffer from serious mental health issues in a nonclinical environment that echoes the practices of Moral Therapy developed by Quakers in the 18th Century. I have had the privilege of connecting the Clubhouse with resources and organizations to partner with all over Bucks and Montgomery Counties, including the Bucks & Montgomery County Intermediate Units, the Partnership of Transportation Management Association of Montgomery County, and the coordinators from the local area high schools that we partner with for their work-study programs.
With all the connections I make through the Chambers, I am always being asked to join more and more business partnership and networking groups. One example is the Buckingham Women’s Roundtable, who chose Care & Share as their nonprofit to donate to at the end of 2024. We received beautiful household items, jewelry pieces, and gorgeous men’s suits. Several of the women in this group (including the host) love to shop at Care & Share and often do my promoting for me – including educating the group on Mennonite Disaster Services and their quick and effective response to the damage caused during last year’s hurricane season.
Our last big networking success came at the quarterly Nonprofit Council meeting hosted by the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Montgomery County back in October of 2024. It is there that I met Jessica Zsoldos, the Director of Outreach at The Quaker School at Horsham. Jessica and I connected and began a partnership to engage their students at Care & Share as volunteers for their work-study program. The excitement that the students and teachers showed at orientation was immense and we look forward to having them back serving with us for years to come!
While I strive to be present for volunteers as much as possible, the connections that I make outside of Care & Share are vital in fostering community relationships, expanding public knowledge of Care & Share and our mission, and understanding the business environment of our local community. My involvement with these organizations and groups benefit Care & Share and our volunteers by developing and building relationships that can enhance our collective impact in our local community and ultimately for MCC