March 2014 Volunteer of the Month - Ellen Nedell

 

Congratulations to Ellen Nedell our March 2014 volunteer of the month!

A native New Yorker, Ellen grew up around the hustle and bustle of New York City. After retiring from her position as a broker on Wall Street, Ellen decided she was going to spend some of her free time volunteering for various agencies in New York that fight for causes she believes in. Ellen’s lively activity as a volunteer throughout different organizations in Manhattan such as JASA, UJA and Goddard is what led her to finding out about the opportunities here at Met Council. 

While her time with Met Council has been short thus far, Ellen took it upon herself to frequently volunteer onsite after receiving notice of an opportunity she felt compelled to be a part of. On a consecutive basis, Ellen would perform outreach tasks for Met Council’s Family Violence Passover Distribution coming up on April 6th. Ellen has called over 75 participants in the program to go over opportunities available to them as well as details for the distribution. She has written down food orders and provided reassurance to clients that Met Council’s services would be there to aid them during the expensive time of Passover. 

Ellen has enjoyed her time as a volunteer, commenting that she volunteers “Just to help other people. People who can help other people….one is so fortunate who can do just that.” Her compelling statement echoes the same notion of many Met Council volunteers. It just so happens that Ellen went above and beyond; primarily taking charge of ensuring the outreach project was done in the most efficient way possible.

It’s that selfless attitude that has provided her with such a pleasant experience volunteering. Ellen stated she has felt nothing but gratitude from the clients she’s been in contact with. “I can hear them smile over the phone,” she states. Wonderful words to hear that reinforce the work Ellen is doing is not only appreciated by clients but also by everyone here at Met Council. 

The most rewarding part for Ellen has been realizing how her contributions have reached out to those who need it. Ellen says “You can’t measure it in quantitative terms it’s more about qualitative,” she continues with “Some small joy has now crept into someone’s life.”