Giving Time, Touching Lives

by Jody Caplan, Vice President, Community Engagement

At this year’s Women’s Awareness Day, featured speaker Laura Schroff shared the story of her friendship with Maurice, a homeless and hungry eleven-year-old boy begging for money on the streets of New York City. Laura stopped and bought him lunch. This began an unlikely relationship that has lasted for 30 years. Those of us in attendance were very moved by hearing about how Laura’s actions changed the course of both of their lives.

In my role as Women’s Philanthropy Vice President of Community Engagement, I often meet with women who are new to our area and are interested in learning more about the Federation of Greater MetroWest. Many of these women are looking to make meaningful contributions to our community through hands-on service. Women’s Philanthropy, our Federation, and our partner agencies offer many ways one can share talents and time. These hands-on opportunities run the gamut from small to large.  Women can do as little or as much as they have time and energy for, be it one hour, one day, or one year. And, of course, with so many options, they can re-visit their choices over time to find something satisfying that works with their interests and their schedules.

This edition of the e-newsletter highlights some of the opportunities women have to give back to our community and to make personal, meaningful, and rewarding contributions. We hope these stories encourage you to get to know our community a bit better and help you to make a difference in someone’s life.

You can find volunteer activities all year long on our Women’s Philanthropy web page at www.jfedgmw.org/wp or www.jfedgmw.org/volunteer

Happy Reading!