Celebrating Volunteers

It’s National Volunteer Week 2023, and we’re celebrating the members of our pack who do so much for Wily!

It would be impossible to name all the people who have gone above and beyond to support Wily Scholars. This year alone, our teams of volunteers have come together to provide hundreds of care packages, gift cards, and birthday presents for Wily Scholars. We could not be more grateful, and we are excited to spotlight some amazing volunteers on our blog.

The Waldeck Family

We love working with the National Charity League, Inc. Not only do they create beautiful care packages, but they also have introduced us to volunteers like the Waldecks.

When Cate, Luke, and Eli Waldeck heard about Wily through the National Charity League, they took the initiative to reach out to us directly and ask how they could help. We are so glad they did. Today, the Waldecks come together as a family to provide birthday gifts and care packages for two Wily Scholars.

Each gift is thoughtful, attentive, and carefully crafted – and both Scholars are so grateful to receive them! The Waldecks are always looking for creative ways to support Wily, and we are so thankful to have them as members of our pack.

Mary Beth Lisman

Pulling off the Wily Career Fair is no small feat! That’s why we are so grateful to have the help of Mary Beth Lisman, Wily’s volunteer Career Fair Coordinator. Mary Beth’s experience as a business advisor and employment counselor is invaluable. She offers guidance during our planning process, and corresponds with dozens of companies to help us build a lineup of attendees representing a variety of industries and career paths.

Mary Beth is also a Gift Giver, and a true ambassador who has connected us with many volunteers and supporters. We couldn’t have hosted the 2022 Career Fair without Mary Beth, and we’re so excited to have her on our team again in 2023!

Barrett Distribution Centers, Inc.

When the folks at Barrett Distribution Centers, Inc. told us they wanted to donate 100 “Welcome Back” care packages to Wily, we were grateful but overwhelmed. We weren’t sure we’d have the space to store so many boxes for the fall, when Wily Scholars get their “Welcome Back” care packages as they return to campus.

The response from Barrett was quick: “no problem! We’ll store them for you until you’re ready to hand them out.” And that wasn’t all – they also invited us to share our mission with 100 Barrett managers at their Annual Meeting.

Thank you so much to Barrett Distribution Centers for introducing us to your team and making the largest single donation of care packages in Wily history – and for enabling us to accept such a large in-kind donation by providing us with storage space too!

Kathy Parent

Between hosting care package events, providing birthday and holiday gifts, and making graduation presents, Kathy Parent has touched almost every milestone in a college students’ life.

Known as “the wrapping queen” in our office, Kathy’s gifts are always thoughtful, detail oriented, and – of course – beautiful.

Kathy was one of the Wily Network’s very first Gift Givers, and she has been creating graduation presents for almost as long as we have had graduations to celebrate. This year, Kathy made gifts for four of Wily’s graduating seniors. They were a perfect present to hand out at Wily’s graduation dinner last week!