Spotlight On PattiJo Verdeja, Volunteer Appreciation Week 2021
I'll never forget the first time I met PattiJo. The primary thing that stood out to me after hearing her story was that she had more jobs at one time than anyone I had ever met in my entire life. And before long, there she was, asking me about how she could volunteer for Jack's! Honestly I was skeptical because how on earth could she add one more thing to her life? But I came to know PattiJo and her core values of honesty, service, and self-sufficiency. I learned I could count on her to be real with me, and with everyone else at Jack's. I learned that above all else she exists to serve others. Something I experienced personally when going through a tough time last year and there she was on my doorstep with an amazing dinner she made for our entire family!
PattiJo thrives in the nitty gritty details, and event planning is full of those. For years prior to her arrival we did like most non-profits do and hired an event planning team to run our big annual fundraiser. PattiJo challenged us and said why can't we do that ourselves? And so we gave it shot and thanks largely to her servent style of leadership, we did it! And I am not exaggerating when I say that everyone at Jack's who has had the privilege to work on an event planning team with her has quite literally told me, "PattiJo is amazing!". I couldn't agree more.
-Kyle Woody, Founder & Executive Director-
PattiJo, Why Do You Volunteer For Jack's?
I met Kyle Woody in 2019, we both attended the James P. Shannon Leadership Institute at the same time. As I listened to his journey of what brought him to where we were in this program, I felt his story. I found his journey to be extremely touching and honest. The fact that this organization was centered around the caregiver was amazing to me. It was centered around guys who are caregivers for their loved ones and offering support in a way that was helpful to them and would meet them where they were on their caregiver journey. Being someone who had been a cancer caregiver, I thought this was amazing and at the time, my brother’s fiancé was battling breast cancer. Before we left our training, I told Kyle, I would love to connect because I wanted to learn more about Jack's and the work they do.
When we met he shared more of his story of being a cancer caregiver and the journey of Jack’s. He asked great questions regarding what I was looking for in a volunteer role and didn't just plug me in where he thought I needed to work. He was thoughtful and caring, I could easily see myself volunteering for Kyle and Jack's. If you know Kyle, he has this way about him and I’ve seen it in action at events, where he can connect with people on a personal level and make anyone feel warmly welcomed within seconds. I volunteer with Jack's because their mission to assist the caregiver has a personal connection to me and my family. I called my sister and told her I was going to start volunteering for a fall fundraiser for this great organization. After telling her about Jack's I asked if she wanted to volunteer and without hesitation she was on-board. It's been so great to volunteer alongside my sister for the past two years. To find out Jack's only has one paid staff person and it's only been a paid position for only about 3 years. They run all these amazing programs and events with a small budget and so many caring volunteers, in addition they have a podcast, they email a newsletter and run social media campaigns constantly.
When people are caregivers they completely forget or ignore their own needs. It's so important to stay healthy as a caregiver, to have an outlet and support to be sure your own energy is being recharged but it is something a caregiver rarely does. Over the past 2 years, I have had the opportunity to be in the room with Jacks and hear their stories on what this organization has meant for them and their loved ones. The support they are receiving and have received as their loved ones fought their battle or continue to fight their battle they are forever grateful for. Over and over again I hear, "I am not sure what I would have done without Jack's in my life". "I wish I would have found them sooner". "It's been such a blessing to have them". When I hear these testimonies it touches me to the core, they are so genuine and extremely heartfelt. I am motivated and want to share my talents with this organization that helps these caregivers.
Cancer has touched my life deeply, I have lost loved ones and have family members who are survivors of cancer. I believe in what Jack's is doing and feel blessed to give my time, share my organizing talents, and donations with Jack’s Caregiver Coalition. I have met amazing people supporting Jack’s being a part of the fall fundraiser and am excited to chair this year’s fall fundraising event. If anyone would like to volunteer, we are looking for folks to assist with the fall fundraising committee! To learn more please email contactus@jackscaregiverco.org to connect with me.
-PattiJo Verdeja-
