Volunteer Spotlight
Spotlight on Sharing Your Skills:
Michelle Clos was inspired to provide career coaching services after going through her own difficult experience of requesting a job accommodation. After completing a certification in career coaching, Michelle decided to turn her new skill into a volunteer opportunity through the National MS Society, partnering with the PlanningWise program. Now she partners with individuals living with MS in helping them reach their career potential. She appreciates the sense of accomplishment she gets when working with a client and the opportunity she has to educate businesses about MS.
Learn more about how your skills can support the MS movement.
Spotlight on Sharing Your Voice:
Brenda Lakatos-Shaffer knows the power of one voice. "I may not be able to cure my MS'" she says, "but I can raise awareness, influence funding for research, and remove barriers from my daily life." Brenda serves as an MS Advocate and frequently shares her story for MS publications and media interviews. Her passion and experience can do so much more for the mission than a simple fact sheet. By giving voice to the mission, she is able to further our outreach strategies and give hope to others sharing her experiences.
Learn more about how your voice can support the MS movement.
Spotlight on Virtual Volunteering:
Isabel Zhang, like many volunteers, was looking for a way to give back to her community in a more meaningful, long-term commitment, but required a certain amount of flexibility to fit her life and schedule. Virtual volunteering was a perfect match for her. "I love that it is behind the scenes, putting in time when I have 20-30 minutes to spare at home or on my lunch break," she said. She contributes by helping to match donations for the bike tour, something she can do from her home computer any time of day. This simple act makes a tremendous impact, allowing staff to stretch what they are able to accomplish. For Isabel, the benefits of giving back far outweigh the couple hours a week she gives. "It all makes a huge difference," she says."I can’t see a better way to spend my time."
Learn more about how you can support the MS movement from anywhere.
Spotlight on Event Volunteering:
The two-day Bike MS event essentially moves a small city of cyclists and volunteers across 150 miles of Texas towns and roads. This would not be possible without thousands of volunteers. No matter how small the task, every volunteer is essential and can make a big impact on the event. Ruben Galvin is one such volunteer. Part of the massive SAM’S CLUB employee volunteer force that supports the Bike MS: SAM’S CLUB Frisco to Fort Worth bike ride, Ruben has made it his job each year to drive the rest stop truck. But it wasn’t enough to just drive the supply truck. After his first year on the bike ride, he noticed the incredible amount of recyclable trash collected at the rest stop. Concerned for the environment and seeing an opportunity to raise more money for MS, Ruben personally collected and recycled all the trash from his rest stop, and he has since made it his mission to develop a recycling program for the entire Bike MS event. “I am very proud of my company for participating in such a worthy cause, but most of all I am proud of my son and wife for volunteering and encouraging others to help as well,” he said. “We’ll be a part of this movement until there is a cure.
Learn more about how you can support the MS movement through an event.
Spotlight on Community Volunteering:
Even heavy metal bands have a place in the movement to make the world free of MS. Just ask Mike Gomez, co-creator of the Dallas Rockers 4 MS Benefit Concert. After a band member’s wife was diagnosed with MS, Mike came up with the idea of doing a benefit concert. He and a friend took a simple idea of a two-band concert to raise a couple hundred dollars and turned it into a two-day festival with 14 bands and major corporate sponsors, including Wal-Mart, WWE, and the Texas Rangers. “Not knowing how to do a non-profit benefit, we ended up with a successful event,” he said. “We met a lot of new people and spread the word about trying to find a cure. And now we know we can raise money, too. We’ll do a lot more next year!”
Learn more about how you can support the MS movement through Community Events.
Spotlight on Interns:
Christi Disch came to the National MS Society as a summer intern in 2006. “My experience as an intern with the Lone Star Chapter greatly influenced my career path. I gained a wealth of knowledge about the non-profit sector,” she said. “I was hired as a development intern, but throughout my internship I was able to speak with other employees about their job duties and work along side them on other projects.” After completing her internship with the National MS Society, she was able to move on to a coordinator position in the non-profit sector, armed with knowledge and experiences that set her apart from other applicants. She also maintains her ties to the National MS Society as a volunteer and plans to ride in a Bike MS event next year.
Learn more about how you can support the MS movement through an internship.
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