Volunteer News
OLLI is member driven and operates with the talent, skills and time of hundreds of volunteers. Volunteers are the creative source behind our classes, classroom support, special groups, social and special events, communications, and planning. Connect with fellow OLLI members, make new friends, be a part of the success and rewards of being an OLLI volunteer.
Tribute for Susanna Chabinak Uhlig
In early September, Susanna Chabinak Uhlig retired after working part time for OLLI at Duke for more than 13 years. Many members remember Susanna from the front desk at Judea Reform Congregation where she greeted members, supported and reassured first time OLLI instructors, and contributed to the warm feelings of community shared by those who attended classes there. Susanna has been a long-time member of OLLI, served on the OLLI board of Advisors, and was recognized with the Bill Wright Award for her many years of dedicated volunteer service to OLLI.
In early September, Susanna Chabinak Uhlig retired after working part time for OLLI at Duke for more than 13 years. Many members remember Susanna from the front desk at Judea Reform Congregation where she greeted members, supported and reassured first time OLLI instructors, and contributed to the warm feelings of community shared by those who attended classes there. Susanna has been a long-time member of OLLI, served on the OLLI board of Advisors, and was recognized with the Bill Wright Award for her many years of dedicated volunteer service to OLLI.
Six years ago, in a bygone era when OLLI held semi-annual retreats, Susanna, along with Ed Eastman, Tom Wolf and Richard Ellman, co-chaired two such events. One was at the beach in April, the other in the mountains in October. None of us would agree to chair the Retreats without the others, as the work to organize them was deemed excessive. But we all pitched in, accepting responsibility for the areas of expertise we each maintained. Susanna was the glue that held us all together. We started panicking while at the beach as we had planned a boat ride but the wind was howling, and the waters very choppy. We had planned out everything in advance—except for such an event. The men were in frenzy over a replacement activity. But Susanna calmed us down, and we were able to quickly find a replacement activity. As the Retreaters were departing, thanking us for a wonderful four days, Susanna presented us with hats monogrammed “D. T. Trinity”—for “Dream Team,” the name we proudly adopted. Thanks, Susanna, for the memories.
Her caring and compassionate spirit is appreciated and will be missed by all of her colleagues. You can find Susanna in a Zoom classroom near you! In honor of Susanna Chabinak Uhlig’s retirement from OLLI at Duke after more than 13 years, this tribute was written by a devoted fellow OLLI member.
Her caring and compassionate spirit is appreciated and will be missed by all of her colleagues. You can find Susanna in a Zoom classroom near you! In honor of Susanna Chabinak Uhlig’s retirement from OLLI at Duke after more than 13 years, this tribute was written by a devoted fellow OLLI member.
OLLI Volunteers at the Durham Community Food Pantry
“Yes, we have no bananas!” Four OLLI members, Suzan Perry, Debbie Reed, Kathy Baumann, and Virginia Lee, observed proper safety protocols while working at the Durham Community Food Pantry (DCFP) in the Lakewood shopping center on
Tuesday, May 5.
After a month’s hiatus, the DCFP, run by the Catholic archdiocese in Raleigh, reopened its doors on April 15 to serve the growing number of individuals and families that are food insecure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On average the Pantry serves about 200 families on any given Wednesday (10 am – 1 pm) or about 1,000 people. It anticipates opening on Thursdays as well soon. Patrons may receive small or large boxes once a month depending on the size of their families: 1-4 or 5-7 persons, respectively. Boxes include a different combination of canned and processed foods, bread, other baked goods, fresh produce and meat depending on availability.
Debbie Reed coordinates the OLLI DCFP volunteers as part of the OLLI Community Engagement (CE) Committee’s new Traditional Volunteering initiative, poised to begin just as COVID-19 struck. “We would love to add more OLLI members to our roster,” says Debbie. “In these unprecedented times it’s nice to do our little part to ease some of the challenges our community is facing, while sharing the experience with our colleagues.”
DCFP is one of the Committee’s four Lakewood community partners including The Scrap Exchange and Lakewood Montessori Middle School, partnerships facilitated through the Duke Office of Durham and Community Affairs. Following discussion with Margaret Hodel, Duke University Retirement Organization (DURO) and OLLI member, the Committee also plans to collaborate with DURO in serving Lakewood Elementary School when things return to near normal. Meals on Wheels Durham is the Committee’s fifth community partner to date, but not located in Lakewood.
For further information and/or to express interest in volunteering, please email olli-ce-tv@googlegroups.com.
Virginia S. Lee, Chair, OLLI Community Engagement Committee
“Yes, we have no bananas!” Four OLLI members, Suzan Perry, Debbie Reed, Kathy Baumann, and Virginia Lee, observed proper safety protocols while working at the Durham Community Food Pantry (DCFP) in the Lakewood shopping center on
Tuesday, May 5.
After a month’s hiatus, the DCFP, run by the Catholic archdiocese in Raleigh, reopened its doors on April 15 to serve the growing number of individuals and families that are food insecure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On average the Pantry serves about 200 families on any given Wednesday (10 am – 1 pm) or about 1,000 people. It anticipates opening on Thursdays as well soon. Patrons may receive small or large boxes once a month depending on the size of their families: 1-4 or 5-7 persons, respectively. Boxes include a different combination of canned and processed foods, bread, other baked goods, fresh produce and meat depending on availability.
Debbie Reed coordinates the OLLI DCFP volunteers as part of the OLLI Community Engagement (CE) Committee’s new Traditional Volunteering initiative, poised to begin just as COVID-19 struck. “We would love to add more OLLI members to our roster,” says Debbie. “In these unprecedented times it’s nice to do our little part to ease some of the challenges our community is facing, while sharing the experience with our colleagues.”
DCFP is one of the Committee’s four Lakewood community partners including The Scrap Exchange and Lakewood Montessori Middle School, partnerships facilitated through the Duke Office of Durham and Community Affairs. Following discussion with Margaret Hodel, Duke University Retirement Organization (DURO) and OLLI member, the Committee also plans to collaborate with DURO in serving Lakewood Elementary School when things return to near normal. Meals on Wheels Durham is the Committee’s fifth community partner to date, but not located in Lakewood.
For further information and/or to express interest in volunteering, please email olli-ce-tv@googlegroups.com.
Virginia S. Lee, Chair, OLLI Community Engagement Committee
Update on Community Engagement Initiative
In November and December of 2019, 37 OLLI members participated in focus groups to guide the planning of OLLI’s new Community Engagement Initiative. The focus group conversations were animated, and participants’ interest in community engagement through OLLI very high.
Participants cited key benefits to engaging with the community through OLLI:
Current and Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
In response, the Committee is currently developing a number of initial community engagement opportunities for OLLI members. Please contact us at the email address above for more information and to express interest.
The Community Engagement Committee is thrilled by the early response from OLLI members to the Initiative. The success of the Initiative depends completely on your participation in these current and unfolding opportunities. We also welcome new members to the Committee who are interested in working collaboratively with other Committee members and have the time, energy, interest and ability to work actively on projects.
Please contact us at olli-community-engagement@googlegroups.com to express interest in any of these opportunities and/or in serving on the Committee.
The OLLI Community Engagement Committee
Beth Anderson, Tina Falker, Joe Howe, Virginia Lee (Chair), Janet Lipman, Debbie Reed
In November and December of 2019, 37 OLLI members participated in focus groups to guide the planning of OLLI’s new Community Engagement Initiative. The focus group conversations were animated, and participants’ interest in community engagement through OLLI very high.
Participants cited key benefits to engaging with the community through OLLI:
- For those new to the community and/or retirement or those without other social networks, a portal into the community and a conduit for connecting the passions, expertise and interests of members with community-identified needs.
- Through prior vetting, assurance of more productive volunteer opportunities, avoidance of members’ wasting time, and increasing the possibility for greater contribution and impact.
- Serving with a core group of people who are committed, like-minded and share similar values; a welcoming and enjoyable group to associate with while going into the community.
- Deepening OLLI as a learning community by offering opportunities for lifelong learning in the community and to learn from the communities, organizations and individuals we serve.
- Increasing the likelihood of having a greater, more sustainable impact by working with others.
- A way for OLLI to reach out and increase its profile in the community for the benefit of the community and leverage its association with Duke.
Current and Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
In response, the Committee is currently developing a number of initial community engagement opportunities for OLLI members. Please contact us at the email address above for more information and to express interest.
- Meals on Wheels Durham: We are recruiting a cohort of volunteers—ideally 10-12 OLLI members—to adopt a weekly Meals on Wheels route in Durham. Meals on Wheels addresses a growing need concerning hunger, isolation and poverty among the homebound, the vast majority of them elderly citizens. Please see the fuller announcement in this Spotlight and contact Joe Howe, jjhoweny@hotmail.com to express interest or for questions.
- Durham Children’s Initiative (DCI: formerly East Durham Children’s Initiative). Three of us have been working on various projects with DCI since Fall 2018. DCI partners with a range of non-profits and agencies to insure positive developmental outcomes for all children (birth through post-secondary) and their families in Durham. DCI has an immediate need for individuals with science backgrounds to assist with STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) Saturdays.
- Partnership with Duke Office of Durham and Community Affairs: In partnership with the Duke Office, we are developing volunteer opportunities with three non-profits and a school in the Lakewood neighborhood: Durham Community Food Pantry, Durham Literacy Center, Lakewood Elementary or Montessori Middle School, and Scrap Exchange.
- The Office has also identified three project areas in which interested OLLI members will work collaboratively with Office staff and Duke students in a more consultative way: capacity building for small Durham non-profits; asset mapping in Durham neighborhoods; and evaluation of the Duke/Durham Neighborhood Partnership.
- Day-of-Service: In partnership with Keep Durham Beautiful, we are coordinating a morning of service for OLLI members along with the community on Saturday, March 21, 9 am – 12 pm in the 17 Acre Nature Preserve during the Creek Week spring clean-up. There will be tasks available for all interests and ability levels.
- Community Engagement Course on Pauli Murray offered in partnership with OLLI’s Diversity Initiative (See Spring 2020 catalogue, page 62): The Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray (1910-1985), an acclaimed African American lawyer, civil rights activist, writer, educator, and Episcopalian priest, grew up in Durham. Along with other African American historical sites (see the article “Rescue Work” in the February 3, 2020 New Yorker), her family home, a National Historic Landmark, is being rehabilitated as the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice (PMC), slated for its grand opening in 2021. Course participants will learn from Center staff about Murray and her dynamic legacy while contributing to the early development of the Center and its vision of radical inclusion and welcome.
The Community Engagement Committee is thrilled by the early response from OLLI members to the Initiative. The success of the Initiative depends completely on your participation in these current and unfolding opportunities. We also welcome new members to the Committee who are interested in working collaboratively with other Committee members and have the time, energy, interest and ability to work actively on projects.
Please contact us at olli-community-engagement@googlegroups.com to express interest in any of these opportunities and/or in serving on the Committee.
The OLLI Community Engagement Committee
Beth Anderson, Tina Falker, Joe Howe, Virginia Lee (Chair), Janet Lipman, Debbie Reed
Seeking Volunteers for an OLLI Meals on Wheels Route
The OLLI Community Engagement Committee is seeking a cohort of volunteers—ideally 10-12 OLLI members—to adopt a weekly Meals on Wheels route in Durham. Meals on Wheels addresses a growing need concerning hunger, isolation and poverty among the homebound, the vast majority of them elderly citizens.
Briefly OLLI volunteers in teams of two (or alone, if you prefer) would deliver meals to recipients on the same route once a month. Most routes take approximately 2 - 3 hours from start to finish. Volunteers pick up the meals, which are prepared and already packed in insulated carrying cases, at the Meals on Wheels facility located on Ross Road in Durham. Meals should be picked up by 10:00 am. After delivering meals, volunteers return the insulated carrying cases to the Meals on Wheels location.
The Meals on Wheels organization provides training on all aspects of volunteer responsibilities. The specific route and day of the week will be determined once we know how many OLLI members have volunteered.
To volunteer or for any questions, please contact Joe Howe at jjhoweny@hotmail.com
The OLLI Community Engagement Committee is seeking a cohort of volunteers—ideally 10-12 OLLI members—to adopt a weekly Meals on Wheels route in Durham. Meals on Wheels addresses a growing need concerning hunger, isolation and poverty among the homebound, the vast majority of them elderly citizens.
Briefly OLLI volunteers in teams of two (or alone, if you prefer) would deliver meals to recipients on the same route once a month. Most routes take approximately 2 - 3 hours from start to finish. Volunteers pick up the meals, which are prepared and already packed in insulated carrying cases, at the Meals on Wheels facility located on Ross Road in Durham. Meals should be picked up by 10:00 am. After delivering meals, volunteers return the insulated carrying cases to the Meals on Wheels location.
The Meals on Wheels organization provides training on all aspects of volunteer responsibilities. The specific route and day of the week will be determined once we know how many OLLI members have volunteered.
To volunteer or for any questions, please contact Joe Howe at jjhoweny@hotmail.com
Help Wanted
Do you like to meet people and welcome them to OLLI? If the answer is yes, then please join our hospitality volunteer list. Events are always interesting and usually short, and the volunteer involvement is minimal. Of course, you can say no, if you are not available for any particular event.
Volunteer for OLLI at Duke: Volunteer@olliatduke.org.
Do you like to meet people and welcome them to OLLI? If the answer is yes, then please join our hospitality volunteer list. Events are always interesting and usually short, and the volunteer involvement is minimal. Of course, you can say no, if you are not available for any particular event.
Volunteer for OLLI at Duke: Volunteer@olliatduke.org.
The Social Activities and Hospitality Committee is already working on plans for the Winter Session. Right now we are looking for volunteers who are willing to pass out parking passes for OLLI members arriving for classes at JRC. When we offered this service last term, we received a lot of positive feedback from our members, and the volunteers all received copious amounts of smiles and thank-yous. Please volunteer at: volunteer@olliatduke.org.
Bill Wright Awards
2019 Bill Wright Award
Alan Vaux, Gregg McPherson, Chris McLeod
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Each year, we honor--with the Bill Wright Award—a volunteer who has done particularly outstanding service to OLLI. This year, the award goes to Gregg McPherson.
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- Gregg has served as a videographer for OLLI. He initiated a trial project to introduce & market OLLI courses, creating a series of short videos on select courses. More recently, he produced a short documentary on an OLLI class covering the history and revival of Durham.
- He served as an At-Large Advisor and went on to serve as Chair of the Board Development Committee where he helped shape the structure and activities of the Board.
- Gregg served two terms as OLLI President—providing critical leadership on key issues.
- Against all the odds, he brought OLLI into the decimal system with the now standard 10-week term!
- He oversaw renewed effort to recruit and appreciate our volunteers—with the first Volunteer Celebration (2015) and the first Volunteer Fair (2017).
- He implemented a change from elections at an Annual Meeting to electronic elections—which generally has yielded a good turn-out and greater efficiency.
- He led planning for our 40th Anniversary Celebrations.
- He oversaw the development and implementation of Measures of Success—a critically important tool by which we monitor the functioning of OLLI: documenting its impressive accomplishments and identifying areas of concern.
- Gregg also took his role of Past-President seriously: providing wise counsel to the Director and the Board; occasionally giving even Mike Bahnaman a run for his money as chief institutional memory.
- Against all the odds, he brought OLLI into the decimal system with the now standard 10-week term!
- After decades in industry or academia, many of us can’t hear the words strategic plan or visioning without at least a small inward groan. But we know that these are critically important activities for any organization, and that done well they can be invaluable. Gregg is the guy you want in charge of this kind of thing.
- He oversaw the development and implementation of the strategic plan under which we currently operate.
- He Chaired the Visioning Task Force last year—that, among other things, presented some innovative ideas on OLLI’s ongoing space challenge, and explored the prospect of delivering OLLI instruction through digital technology.
- Finally, Gregg has a number of wonderful personal qualities that I’d like to mention.
- He has mastered being engaged but calm. OLLI and its challenges matter to him and capture his full attention. But if a discussion isn’t going his way, he doesn’t withdraw, and he doesn’t get mad or frustrated, he just calmly makes his case and, when necessary, moves on.
- He is empirical: he pays attention to data. For me and others on the Visioning Task Force, Gregg’s mapping of where our members lived was a complete eye-opener. Suddenly, the geographic scope—and responsibility—of OLLI at Duke was transformed.
- He is open-minded. He listens to colleagues’ ideas, thoughtfully appraises their worth, and politely rejects them or changes his own view as he sees fit. He reads widely and very often brings something original to discussions.
- He is gracious. Ever polite and civil, I have never seen him ratchet up tensions: rather he has gift for using humor to de-escalate conflict. He is routinely tactful.
- Lastly, he is generous. All our volunteers give time and effort to OLLI, and some border on sainthood, but many—myself included—put firm limits on their engagement. We should never take for granted the generosity of those dedicated few who make exceptional contributions.
- Please join me in congratulating Gregg McPherson on being the winner of this year’s Bill Wright Award.
Written by Alan Vaux, May 2019
2018 Bill Wright Award
The Distinguished Service Award at OLLI at Duke is named for Bill Wright, who exemplified the dedication and involvement in OLLI that has made it the special organization that it is today. Bill and his wife Fode were the first recipients of this award and became the models for the service in every aspect of OLLI at Duke that we honor each year. Each recipient of the annual award is chosen by the preceding year’s winner, the Board of Advisors President, and the OLLI at Duke Director.
The award recipient is among those members who have demonstrated exemplary commitment to the work of OLLI at Duke, has made significant contributions to the shaping of our vision and mission, and has made volunteerism a hallmark of his or her participation. Many of the previous award winners are still working among us, still volunteering, still contributing. That is certainly true of the 2018 winner.
How did this OLLI member get started volunteering? “It was almost like happenstance,” he says. “Once I got involved in OLLI as a student, once I got into being an instructor and enjoying that so much...” He pauses, “when you volunteer for any non- profit, especially one that has been so successful, it creates a real commitment to the organization.”
He taught his first OLLI course 15 years ago, and his success there and on various OLLI committees led him to four years on the OLLI Board—as Vice-President, President, and Past President. Recently, he has served on the Strategic Planning Committee, and he has both continued as an OLLI instructor himself and recruits exciting new instructors for courses.
His connections with the NC Symphony enabled OLLI to bring in Grant Llewellyn as the keynote speaker at the OLLI 40th Convocation event (September 2017). That connection has also meant that the NC Symphony has presented its class on “How the Symphony Works” for OLLI three times. His own course on “How Airports Work” continues to be a popular favorite among OLLI members.
The award recipient is among those members who have demonstrated exemplary commitment to the work of OLLI at Duke, has made significant contributions to the shaping of our vision and mission, and has made volunteerism a hallmark of his or her participation. Many of the previous award winners are still working among us, still volunteering, still contributing. That is certainly true of the 2018 winner.
How did this OLLI member get started volunteering? “It was almost like happenstance,” he says. “Once I got involved in OLLI as a student, once I got into being an instructor and enjoying that so much...” He pauses, “when you volunteer for any non- profit, especially one that has been so successful, it creates a real commitment to the organization.”
He taught his first OLLI course 15 years ago, and his success there and on various OLLI committees led him to four years on the OLLI Board—as Vice-President, President, and Past President. Recently, he has served on the Strategic Planning Committee, and he has both continued as an OLLI instructor himself and recruits exciting new instructors for courses.
His connections with the NC Symphony enabled OLLI to bring in Grant Llewellyn as the keynote speaker at the OLLI 40th Convocation event (September 2017). That connection has also meant that the NC Symphony has presented its class on “How the Symphony Works” for OLLI three times. His own course on “How Airports Work” continues to be a popular favorite among OLLI members.
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OLLI is proud to announce that the recipient of the 2018 Bill Wright Award for Distinguished Service is Jack Gartner. This organization honors him for his commitment and work in the task of allowing all the members to enjoy our lifelong learning opportunities.
Thank you, Jack! Written by Beth Timson, October 2018 |
Jack Gartner
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2017 Bill Wright Award - Margaret McKeon
Margaret McKeon
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The Distinguished Service Award at OLLI is named for Bill Wright, who exemplified the kind of dedication and over-arching involvement in OLLI that has made this the special organization that it is today. Bill and his wife Fode were the first recipients of this award and became the models for the kind of exemplary service in every area of life at OLLI at Duke that we will honor again today. The recipient of the award, the identity of whom is kept secret until presentation, is chosen by the preceding year’s winner, the Board of Advisors president, and the OLLI director.
Award recipients are among those who have demonstrated exemplary commitment to the work of OLLI at Duke, made significant contributions to the shaping of our vision and mission, and have made volunteerism a hallmark of their participation. Many of the previous award winners are still working among us, still volunteering, still contributing. |
ow we come to the 2017 recipient. Shortly after my becoming the Director of OLLI, we had an opening on the Board of Advisors due to the death of a beloved member. I remember sitting in my office with a couple of my staff members, brainstorming on whom we should ask to fill the seat. I had to rely on their knowledge of the organization, because I knew basically no one. Then one of them said… “You know who would be excellent in this position?” And so we made a phone call, and soon I was having a conversation with the person who would be the new head of the Membership Committee...a member named Margaret McKeon.
Since Margaret became the membership chairperson, she has expanded the job far beyond maintaining a list of members and catalog distribution. Here are just a few things she (and of course, her committee) have done:
I have also learned over the years to trust Margaret’s judgment. For example, she suggested to me a while back that we consider using the Hill House for OLLI events. I pushed back—there’s not enough parking, no one knows where it is, etc., etc., etc. I finally said, ok, we can try it for one event. Not only did it work, but it has almost become our official place for meetings, planning retreats, and smaller events.
When we choose a Bill Wright Award winner, my hope is always that the members of OLLI will smile and think, “Of course. This makes absolute sense.” I think we have achieved that this year. Would you please join me in congratulating the recipient of the 2017 Bill Wright Award for Distinguished Service in volunteer leadership, Ms. Margaret McKeon.
Since Margaret became the membership chairperson, she has expanded the job far beyond maintaining a list of members and catalog distribution. Here are just a few things she (and of course, her committee) have done:
- Each term we have a Meet and Greet that has introduced hundreds of new members and prospective members to OLLI at Duke, and always behind the scenes is Margaret, coordinating, communicating, following up.
- Under Margaret’s leadership, OLLI has benefited from dozens of exciting and unique activities. Have you gone to Durham Bulls games, museum visits, Sarah Duke Gardens tours, Civil Rights tours, end of year picnics, or one of many other activities? Thank Margaret and her committee.
- If you have attended enough retreats, you have probably seen the fingerprint of Margaret on the planning and execution. If you enrolled in the How to Read a Beach course led by Orrin Pilkey, or if you have attended the OLLI at Duke Wine Society, you definitely have.
- Have you ever eaten a great Parizade meal at the OLLIday luncheon? Not only does Margaret lead that effort, but she kept it from dying when we almost pulled the plug several years ago due to rising costs and lower attendance.
- Margaret is a fierce advocate for the OLLI membership on the Board. She insists that our decisions keep the needs of our members uppermost, and that people be treated with respect.
I have also learned over the years to trust Margaret’s judgment. For example, she suggested to me a while back that we consider using the Hill House for OLLI events. I pushed back—there’s not enough parking, no one knows where it is, etc., etc., etc. I finally said, ok, we can try it for one event. Not only did it work, but it has almost become our official place for meetings, planning retreats, and smaller events.
When we choose a Bill Wright Award winner, my hope is always that the members of OLLI will smile and think, “Of course. This makes absolute sense.” I think we have achieved that this year. Would you please join me in congratulating the recipient of the 2017 Bill Wright Award for Distinguished Service in volunteer leadership, Ms. Margaret McKeon.