On a recent Monday in late June, nearly 100 students in grades kindergarten through fifth gathered during our 2023 summer program at the Dan Donahue Center to sing a worship song titled “Fruit of the Spirit.” Volunteer Stephan “Buddy” Joe joined in with just as much enthusiasm as those raising their voices in praise.
July 2023 ‘Volunteer of the Month’: Arjit Singh
May 2023 ‘Volunteers of the Month’: Siclaly Medina & Julia Metteer
KidWorks College Corp Interns
Honoring our 2022 Volunteers of the Year
February 2023 ‘Volunteer of the Month’: Amanda Zimmerman
Celebrating our 2022 ‘Volunteers of the Month’
One of our most popular communications are our Volunteer of the Month stories. As we turn the page on 2022, your KidWorks team is delighted to recap—and celebrate once again--the 12 Volunteers of the Month recognized in 2022. For 2023, we’ll continue to highlight our wonderful volunteers, partners and supporters.
December 2022 ‘Volunteer of the Month’: Monica Garcia
November 2022 ‘Volunteer of the Month: Luna Paz
October 2022 ‘Volunteer of the Month’: Sarah Yoon
August 2022 ‘Volunteer of the Month’: Maureen Moore
Volunteer of the Month: Karen Eckelbarger
Over her 47-year career as an elementary school teacher, Karen Eckelbarger taught thousands of third graders cursive penmanship.
So, who better than this longtime KidWorks volunteer to put her own elegant handwriting skills to work addressing envelopes and short thank you notes from our staff to generous donors and supporters?
Her faithful service behind the scenes is inspirational which is why we nominated her for volunteer of the month at KidWorks.
Volunteer of the Month: Rachid Chamtieh
KidWorks Volunteer of the Month: Vicki Randall
Ways to Get Involved With KidWorks in 2022
KidWorks Volunteer Of The Month: Omar Salazar
A dozen years ago, Omar Salazar’s mother, Maria, learned about KidWorks from a family friend in their central Santa Ana neighborhood. Soon afterward, Omar was enrolled as a KidWorks preschool student.
Fast-forward to 2021 and Omar—now a junior at Mater Dei High School—arrives every Monday and Tuesday afternoon at our Dan Donahue Center to tutor students during after school programs.
KidWorks Volunteer of the Month: Cynthia Espinoza
Last Fall, Cynthia Espinoza—our May 2021 Volunteer of the Month—saw an opportunity she just couldn’t pass by.
A freshman at California State University, San Marcos (studying child and adolescent development), Cynthia was helping a high school junior struggling with her math assignment during a “virtual” KidWorks’ homework hotline session.
KidWorks Volunteer of the Month - Elise Schroeder
KidWorks Volunteer of the Month: Allison Wong
Allison Wong, our February 2021 “Volunteer of the Month” was born to volunteer. She’s been doing exactly that since she was 11-years-old. At that age she even wrote and self-published a novel and used the proceeds to buy toys for children at a local hospital.
Now a sophomore at Orange County School of the Arts, Allison has volunteered at KidWorks for almost two years, tutoring elementary school students and developing their creativity through art-related KidWorks University workshops.
December Volunteer of the Month: Natalie Hall
When Natalie Hall starred in “All My Children” from 2009 through 2011, she didn’t know at the time that she’d also have a starring role with the kids at KidWorks just a few years later.
Our December “Volunteer of the Month” is one of our students’ favorite volunteers and classroom tutors.
KidWorks’ students in grades kindergarten, one, two and four might not know about all of Natalie’s television, Broadway and movie roles—but they do know she’s always there to motivate them with a quick joke and academic guidance.