Volunteer Spotlight: Rose Mary

Through all stages of life, the conventional wisdom is to make a plan and follow it carefully. Whether it be college, a career, a big move, even a vacation – take calculated steps to get there. While this is usually very sound advice, in some cases not having a plan can end up leading you to the right place. This was the case for Rose Mary, a long time CMC volunteer that has been involved at the Center since 2008. 

“They always said ‘Before you’re retired you should be sure you know what you want to do,’” Rose Mary said, “Well I retired and I didn’t know what I wanted to do!” 

After retiring from Rockwell Collins and trying to find a way to fill her days, Rose Mary took a chance on a program that pointed retirees towards volunteer opportunities, and she eventually decided on the Catherine McAuley Center. Rose Mary has volunteered all over the Center since she first started, helping out with things such as filing, stuffing letters, preparing our event invitations for mailing, and managing CMC’s scrapbooks that are viewed at our Annual Celebration. Some of her jobs, like preparing tea bags, are a testament to how long she’s been helping out. 

“I started as a tea lady, did you know they used to sell a lot of tea?” she asked, before discussing some of the highlights from her first years at CMC.

“It was a whole group of us around the table in the sunroom. We had to tear these little bags apart and put a teaspoon of tea in there and iron them shut. I did that for a couple years, and that was fun because we always said ‘Whatever’s said in the tea room stays in the tea room!’”

Rose Mary has seen plenty of change during her years at the Center, most notably the increasing amount of people and the decreasing amount of free space as we approach the long-awaited move into a larger building. 

“We just keep getting more and more people!” she said as we discussed the move this summer, “The basement used to just be the basement, but they had to fix that up to make room for more people, so it just keeps growing.”

Besides the ever-growing need for space, one of the most common talking points about the Catherine McAuley Center is the feeling of welcome when you step inside. There are friendly faces around every corner, which plays a large role in keeping volunteers like Rose Mary coming back for so many years. 

“Everyone always says thank you. I feel like I put smiles on people’s faces. That’s what’s kept me coming back– the people. I don’t remember ever leaving in a bad mood, I’ve always felt better.”

Volunteer Spotlight: Myrna

A sense of community is something to be cherished. As people, we seek out those connections and interactions that make us feel truly human and more in tune with the people around us. Volunteer tutor Myrna Loehrlein, who has enjoyed tutoring at CMC for the past eleven years, shared that the connections she’s made through working with students is high on the list of reasons that she’s stayed with us for so long!

Myrna teaches basic learning skills to adults at the Center as a volunteer tutor. Some of these students are learning how to read for the first time in any language, and others are learning English. No matter a student’s background, Myrna’s ability to teach is bolstered by her remarkable background in child education. While teaching itself can be infinitely rewarding, Myrna says one of her favorite aspects of tutoring and being at CMC is the interactions that she gets to have. Myrna states that she feels “not only appreciated, but respected,” and has “never had a student who was grumpy!” According to Myrna, seeing students achieve their goals is always something to be celebrated, but it is the connection between student and tutor forged in the hours of study that is most meaningful. “The things that are really most encouraging aren’t necessarily student achievements but a sense that even if there isn’t a really an identifiable student achievement, there’s something important going on. You know that all of us here are complete people,” she continues, “We want to be serious and we want to learn but we understand that the heart of us needs to be taken care of.”  And that is exactly what Myrna, and the hundreds of other volunteers at CMC, do each day. 

The community at CMC is one that is built on connection. It is a place that places a premium on respect and understanding of one another. Each person, whether entering our doors as a compassionate teacher or an eager learner, is appreciated for the unique strengths they bring to our community. At CMC, all will find that the passion to connect with and care for others is shared among our staff and volunteers; a passion we believe to be truly exceptional. Thank you, Myrna – for a great conversation, all of the work you do here, and contributing to the good spirit of the Center!

We began this series on our volunteers to shine a light on just some of the hundreds of people that give their time and talents to contribute to CMC.  Follow along to get to know more of our volunteers who are working together for an inclusive community at CMC!