This month, we wanted to put a spotlight on volunteering. We asked our board members why they volunteer, what are their best volunteer experience(s), and their favorite way to give back to the trail. If this inspires you to find ways to share your time, please check out the Volunteer page and the calendar for current opportunities on the DPMR website. We need you at upcoming aid stations, trail and trash stewardship days and more!
Meggie Inouye: “My family supports Adventure Risk Challenge (ARC).
ARC’s mission is to empower underserved youth through transformational literacy, leadership, and outdoor experiences. This primarily is carried out through 30 day summer immersive wilderness courses in Tahoe and Yosemite and year round mentoring programs based out of North Tahoe High and 3 high schools in the Fresno area.
[My husband] Chris serves as the Treasurer on the Board of Directors and as a family we financially contribute and volunteer at the various community events. We especially enjoy the Voices of Youth event which allows participants to share their writings and poetry with the community.”
Renee Jacobs: “I love how volunteering not only supports others, but it nurtures your soul. It’s worth finding the time in your schedule to make it happen! You will be happier for it. Obviously, I currently give a lot of time to DPMR as a board member, but I’ve also helped take care of animals at the humane society (that’s an easy one – who doesn’t love helping animals?). Being a stay-at-home mom with a 4-year-old while training for big adventures makes it hard to fit in trail stewardship days and aid stations as much as I would like, so I have found other ways to support trails that work for me. You don’t have to be at an official trail work day to pick up trash and clear trails of debris that might make the next runner trip or take out a MTB. And my son and I have been known to haul both his and my gardening gear to help maintain trails in “our backyard.” Kids love shovels and rakes! It gives me warm fuzzies every time I use the trail.”
Angela Stark: “Volunteering and giving back is very important to me and my family. My favorite running related volunteer opportunities are when I get the chance to work at a race aid station. I love to see the different participants and to briefly be part of their experience in a helpful and supportive way. In addition, my 14 year old daughter and I are active members of our local chapter of the National Charity League. Our family has also been longtime supporters of the Tri-Valley Haven organization – from running in their annual Pace for Peace 5k/10k to contributing to their donor appreciations and most recently to helping them rebuild their domestic violence shelter through financial contributions. Ultimately, we believe it is important to actively participate in helping make our community and trails better for all and want to be part of that change. There are so many things we can do to help, big and small… but all meaningful.”
Jack Macy: “My volunteer activities currently/recently include:
- DPMR Board and activities 🙂
- Truckee Trails Foundation Board
- Truckee Donner Land Trust – Truckee Springs Committee
- Various volunteer time at our kids’ schools (SELS, Glenshire Elementary, THS)
- AYSO soccer coach
Given my use of them, and how valuable they are to the community for physical health, mental health, social time, community identity, conservation, etc., I’m currently focusing my volunteer time more heavily on our local trails, protecting public lands, and trail stewardship.
And then we try to contribute financially on a regular basis to a much wider group of causes and organizations that are doing important, valuable work for different parts of our communities and world.”
Aude Hofleitner: “Before getting into running, I was volunteering or organizing events for girls or women in STEM such as Expand Your Horizons, Women in Machine Learning or Girls Who Code. I’ve also served on the board of the French Alumni Association to promote connections within the French community in the Bay Area. After sharing my interest in math and science, I am excited to now share my love of running and the mountains, and we have so many opportunities to do that around here! I find the energy from aid stations really invigorating when I run, so volunteering at aid stations has been a special way to give back. It has also given me a strong appreciation for ultra running by seeing the race from the first to the last runner. I also find trail days to be great to learn more about the trails around us, how they are built and help improve the places where I spend so much time playing.”
Diane Frederic: “For me, giving back is what being part of a strong community is all about. Living in Tahoe presents so many opportunities for being involved that it’s easy to live up to my chosen volunteer mantra of “say yes more”. In addition to being a DPMR Board Member, my current volunteer roster includes all the branding and design work for Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care and serving as an Election Worker while also being heavily involved with my chosen political party.
But best DPMR volunteer experiences? All of them… quite simply being a part of the running community by sharing trail time, giving back at races, hosting events and trail and trash stewardship benefits me as much as (hopefully) my community, so it’s a giant win-win for all!”
Leave a Reply