Volunteers Give Back
Part Of The Action
Billie Hamilton was born to be part of the action. The River Park resident has spent her life educating people and fighting for causes. At 93, she’s going strong.
“I’ve always been an activist,” Hamilton says.
Her history proves the point. She’s a member of the Sacramento chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby and has been involved with the Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom, American Friends Service Committee and National Organization for Women.
Lighting The Way
If Cliff Popejoy could tell people one thing, it would be, “Get out and volunteer. It doesn’t matter how often—a few hours a week, a few days a year—just find a niche that appeals to you, create the time and volunteer.”
Popejoy has volunteered for the Greater Sacramento branch of the global housing nonprofit Habitat for Humanity for more than 30 years. He knows the joy volunteering brings. It can even start you on a new career path, as Popejoy learned.
You Gotta Have Friends
Mary Alice Lewis knows what a difference a handmade item can make to someone in need.
Since 2015, Lewis and a group of fellow residents at the River’s Edge senior community off Fair Oaks Boulevard have raised money for Loaves & Fishes’ Mustard Seed School through the sale of handmade goods. They have raised more than $20,000 for the school, which provides free Montessori education and a safe space for homeless children ages 3–15.
“Mary Alice and the volunteers at River’s Edge have been supporting the children at Mustard Seed for years,” school director Casey Knittel says. “It’s wonderful to have their help because they are always so careful to make sure they understand exactly what our school needs. They have helped with everything from providing Valentine’s cards to buying Montessori materials for our classrooms to renovating our front office.”
Helping Hand
Jessie Tientcheu has spent her career empowering people.
As CEO of Opening Doors, Tientcheu is responsible for a complex organization that provides economic and social services to refugees, immigrants, human trafficking survivors and underserved Sacramento area residents.
Before becoming CEO in 2019, she volunteered for the organization’s refugee resettlement program, helping newcomers connect to their new community.
Campaign for Kindness
It started with quiche.
The year was 2015 and Arden-Arcade resident Sarah Thompson suffered from post-partum depression after giving birth to her daughter. An avid cook, she was chopping and baking her sorrows out when she decided to see if her kitchen skills might help someone else.
She put out a call on Facebook, offering to make a quiche for anyone who needed “an extra measure of kindness.” A connection came from a woman recently diagnosed with cancer.
Mask Makers
Even in the midst of a global pandemic, Karla Burgess has gotten a “glimpse of the best in people” thanks to her work as logistics coordinator for Folsom Mask Makers, an all-volunteer group of local seamstresses formed in mid-March to address the community’s chronic lack of pandemic personal protective equipment.
To date, the group has produced nearly 65,000 masks, 2,650 scrub caps, 1,310 visual masks, hundreds of 3D-printed face shields, and thousands of crocheted and 3D-printed ear savers. They’ve donated to more than 350 hospitals, medical and dental groups, care homes, schools, nonprofit and community organizations, and emergency service agencies in Sacramento, Placer and El Dorado counties.
