Dave and Deb
Dave and Deb are the kind of caring, committed volunteers that every non-profit organization would love to have. Volunteers for Community Living's Recreation Services program since 1992, the couple became involved after Deb became the guardian of MaryAnn, Deb's cousin and a Community Living participant. They would take MaryAnn to bowling events sponsored by Recreation Services, and they saw a need for volunteer help. Today, Dave and Deb volunteer three times a week or more with a variety of Recreation Services activities, including bowling, mall walking and exercise classes, and both jump in when they can if a program is short-staffed.
"Dave and Deb are great volunteers," says Kathleen Ditch, recreation leader for the Recreation Services program. "They have wide and diverse interests and have a solid knowledge of our programs."
Dave and Deb have used their diverse talents and interests to develop programs for Recreation Services participants. Dave, a retired engineer from McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing), is an accomplished woodworker and member of the Greater St. Louis Art Association, the Woodworkers Guild, and the Best of Missouri Hands. He has helped create and direct woodworking craft projects for Recreation Services participants.
"I just have fun working with the participants," says Dave. "It's rewarding."
Deb, who retired in 2005 after 18 years as Director of Career Services at the University of Missouri —St. Louis, is a Certified St. Louis Master Gardener through the Missouri Botanical Garden and is a volunteer at the Kemper Center for Home Gardening. She has brought her love of gardening and the outdoors to the Recreation Services program by working with the Program's Gardening Club. She and Dave were instrumental in starting a Wild Bird Club for participants to educate them on how to care for and feed the birds throughout the seasons.
"We like helping the participants, and it's good for us, too," says Deb. "We've really seen the participants grow. It's important for them to have continuity, and the participants know us now."