Thanking Our Volunteers

Many of our volunteers commit several hours a week to the StandUp For Kids - Worcester program.  Whether outreach counselors, leadership team members, or general program support, they constantly achieve great things for the program.  

To recognize our volunteers dedication, we host a Volunteer Appreciation Night once a year.  One of the big rules we have is no talking about StandUp For Kids.  It's a great way to bond with each other.  Also, some of our volunteers don't see each other for months at a time due to scheduling conflicts so the event gives them the opportunity to catch up with one another.

This year's Volunteer Appreciation Event was hosted by Ally Trull (Director of Outreach) on Saturday, December 5th.  We enjoyed pizza, games, and the company of Ally's many pets (a rat, a cat, and two kittens).

Other Updates

Thank You to the UMass Memorial Medical Center Nursing Leadership Team!

We received a congratulatory letter from the Nursing Leadership team of UMass Memorial Medical Center on Saturday, December 5th.  The Nursing Leadership team expressed appreciation and support for the work that we do with homeless youth in Worcester.  They also informed us that they are collecting a holiday donation for our program.  Our Co-Executive Directors have been invited to their January meeting to accept the donation and talk to the leadership team about our efforts.  Thank you so much to the UMass Memorial Nursing Leadership Team!  We are overjoyed by this news and thank you for your support of our program!

The Outreach Scoop

Now that the winter is here, the streets are getting quiet.  Like most of us, the kids don't want to stand out in 40 below weather.  They find warm places to hang out.  This means that our street outreach evenings are getting quiet.  Of course, this does not mean that we won't run into any kids.  You just never know.  That's why we are out there.  Because life is unexpected and the kids need us out there to find them in their times of need.

New Volunteers

In November, we trained 5 new volunteers!  Welcome to Jacque, Jeff, Megan, Perry, and Ralitsa!  

Donna Katsoudas (Co-Executive Director) also ran her first volunteer info session yesterday, December 9th.  She presented to four perspective volunteers.  Great job, Donna!