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Volunteering: Our Personal Mission

 

The University League has a dual mission: scholarship and service. Raising scholarship funds is relatively straightforward. Service, or volunteerism, is more personal. Few have said it better than Mary Warfield in an article that appeared in the League Letter several years ago. A slightly modified version appears below:

 

People ask me why I volunteer. I can give them the short and idealistic answer: to help change the world. Or, I can give them a longer, but honest answer: to change myself. Yes, mentoring a first grade reader helps improve the student’s reading skills. Working on a community gardening project beautifies the neighborhood. But every volunteer activity I have ever undertaken has taught me something I might not otherwise have learned, helped me become acquainted with people I probably would not otherwise have had the chance to meet, or challenged me in some way. And I have always had fun volunteering! University League members devote many hours in many settings including the University Hospitals and Clinics, the Allen Centennial Gardens, Bookworms, and the U.W. Madison Odyssey Project.

 

Contact the Volunteer Services Coordinator Marguerite Sykes (238-2015 or sykesmargs@yahoo.com) for more information on these and other volunteer opportunities. We’ll be glad to pass your name on to the organization of choice, but please remember that the responsibility to follow through on making connections ultimately lies with you. Madison is a vital community with many needs and opportunities to match your talents with the job that needs to be done.

 

Volunteer at the Lakeshore Nature Preserve Come learn about the Lakeshore Nature Preserve, volunteer opportunities, and ongoing Frautschi Point restoration on Saturday, September 19 from 10 to 12, from Glenda Denniston and Roma Lenehan, Lakeshore Nature Preserve Stewards. After a brief orientation and tour of the beautiful savanna restorations, there will be an opportunity to do volunteer work – either planting (if there are plants) or other volunteer work. Wear long pants and sturdy walking shoes. If you have good work gloves, bring them. Meet at the Frautschi Point Parking Lot (on the north side of Lake Mendota Drive west of Picnic Point opposite Eagle Heights Apartments). For more information on the Preserve or the Friends of the Preserve, see websites www.lakeshorepreserve.wisc.edu or waa.uwalumni.com/lakeshorepreserve.

 

If you have questions or are interested in volunteering at the Lakeshore Nature Preserve but are unable to attend on September 19, please send your name and email address to Roma Lenehan (rlenehan@charter.net or 238-5406) and she will get you information on other Preserve volunteer opportunities.