Meet an Outstanding Volunteer!
Mary Parenti
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By day, Mary Parenti is the human resources manager of Wendel, Rosen, Black and Dean, an Oakland-based law firm. Outside of the office, however, Mary is a volunteer superstar. She has worked as the volunteer coordinator of the WRBD Rebuilding Day team for five years now, and has also volunteered on October Block Builds and as a home previewer.
Mary has been working on volunteer projects her whole life, but what she loves most about Rebuilding Together Oakland is the flexibility. "Working full time doesn't allow the time I would like to spend on volunteer work…While I'm still working, projects that I can plan for and that are done in a specific amount of time are best for me." What keeps her coming back to RTO, besides the scheduling? "Everyone in the office and the other volunteers all obviously love the organization and the goals of the organization."
Mary has had too many great experiences with RTO to pick a single favorite, but every year she relishes the look on the homeowner's face when the project is finished and the homeowner realizes all that's been achieved. The most challenging part of working with RTO, however, is easy for Mary to identify: "Getting up at 6:30 on Saturday morning!"
Years of experience have helped Mary to develop some wise advice for new volunteers or house captains. "I would emphasize making sure you don't overcommit your team to the homeowner -- best not to promise and then have to disappoint. Also, have someone assigned to interact with the homeowner frequently during the project. Even though they asked for the help (or a family member asked), the disruption can be unsettling at times…you're moving their precious stuff around and even tossing out things they're not sure they're ready to get rid of. Patience and understanding come in handy!"
Mary has been working on volunteer projects her whole life, but what she loves most about Rebuilding Together Oakland is the flexibility. "Working full time doesn't allow the time I would like to spend on volunteer work…While I'm still working, projects that I can plan for and that are done in a specific amount of time are best for me." What keeps her coming back to RTO, besides the scheduling? "Everyone in the office and the other volunteers all obviously love the organization and the goals of the organization."
Mary has had too many great experiences with RTO to pick a single favorite, but every year she relishes the look on the homeowner's face when the project is finished and the homeowner realizes all that's been achieved. The most challenging part of working with RTO, however, is easy for Mary to identify: "Getting up at 6:30 on Saturday morning!"
Years of experience have helped Mary to develop some wise advice for new volunteers or house captains. "I would emphasize making sure you don't overcommit your team to the homeowner -- best not to promise and then have to disappoint. Also, have someone assigned to interact with the homeowner frequently during the project. Even though they asked for the help (or a family member asked), the disruption can be unsettling at times…you're moving their precious stuff around and even tossing out things they're not sure they're ready to get rid of. Patience and understanding come in handy!"