Check out Katie Sullivan, UI’s Program Evaluation and Volunteer Manager blog from when she attended Women On Call’s 10th Anniversary Meet & Match event.
Urban Initiatives has been involved with Women On Call since its inception in 2006. Over the last 10 years, a variety of departments have benefitted from Women On Call’s support in high-impact, short-term projects. Er jumped at the opportunity to attend the 10th Anniversary Meet & Match event, and the cherry on top was the opportunity to listen to Margot Pritzker and Madeline Albright discuss female empowerment and volunteering.
I was thrilled to learn that Madeleine Albright’s first volunteer experience was with her daughters’ school, and she says “It had never occurred to me I could raise a nickel,” and then she realized she was actually very good at fundraising and soon got a reputation for being able to get things done. She spoke about how much of her career was unplanned, and that a volunteer experience led to helping out in an election, and before she knew it, she was the first female Secretary of State. She had never imagined her life would turn out this way, and it all started with her passion for service. The fact that a feminist icon such as Madeleine Albright didn’t realize how skilled she was until she started volunteering really hit home when thinking about how our Team Captains are gearing up for their spring Service Learning Project. I can’t wait to hear back what kinds of new skills they discovered!