volunteer of the month

Millions of Americans are currently volunteers. We do it for a variety of reasons and at a wide number of locations. Many do it from in front of their computer. Among us are some very special people who are deeply involved. While there are far too many to recognize individually, the Volunteer of the Month will showcase the efforts of some of these remarkable people. What they have in common is that they have found the cause that touches them deeply. They have exercised their passion and are making a difference.

Enjoy reading about them and let us know about others who should be considered for Volunteer of the Month.

Kim Williams

Kim Williams of Phoenix, Arizona is the Volunteer For Good Volunteer of the Month. She reacted to the honor by modestly saying, "There are so many people like me, people who make it work." She is referring to the work done by volunteers at the UMOM New Day Center, the largest family homeless shelter in Arizona. Their mission is to provide homeless and low-income families with food, shelter and tools to build a bridge to self-sufficiency. 

Kim has a background in sales and marketing and wanted to volunteer outside of her area of business expertise but did not know how to get started. Through an organization of meeting planners she found Phoenix's Make-A-Difference, a component of the national Hands On Network. At first, she found projects through Make-A-Difference and volunteered every month. While volunteering for a variety of organizations, she was hoping to find her passion, something to which she felt totally committed. The UMOM New Day Center provided just what she was looking for.

She runs their Read-To-Me program which matches volunteers with children in a recreational, non-classroom setting. One night per week, volunteers meet with children whose ages run from 4 to 14 years old. At the beginning, she had 3 volunteers and 30 kids. She found herself speaking to groups, asking for volunteers. It took her a while to grow the program. Now, during the course of a year, over 100 families participate in the program. Each week they see from 30 to 50 children. On one evening, 88 children showed up for the reading program. She describes the process as organized chaos. Usually, about 20 volunteers will show up. Some are hooked and almost always appear for the weekly sessions. Kim enjoys seeing others find their passion as she found hers. "If you can connect with something close to your heart, you keep coming back. You don’t know what your passion is until you do it."

She now finds it easy to attract volunteers; many are from Make-A-Difference. "You want a volunteer to know what they are looking for and when they find it they keep coming back. Others may want to do something less cerebral. People who come here work hard for that hour." Kim is attracted to the kids who "appreciate every ounce of attention that they get." Her interest in the children and their families has led her to join the Board of Directors at UMOM as well as being the project leader. Kim graciously sums up her activities by saying, "I don’t do it alone by any stretch."

Kim is certainly deserving of the accolade, Volunteer For Good Volunteer of the Month.