April is National Volunteer Appreciation Month and as a way to celebrate our beloved volunteers, we called them up and asked how they were keeping happy and healthy while staying at home. See below for some of our volunteers’ favorite recommendations of books, websites, games, videos, and more that they wish they could share with you in person.
As a non-profit organization, our volunteers are part of the backbone that makes up the Kimmel Center Cultural Campus. You will often see them behind our Info Desk, assisting as part of our frontline staff interacting with all those that walk through our doors. Each volunteer is passionate about the arts and loves (and we mean LOVES) to share their passions with everyone they meet. Our volunteers have broad and diverse interests just like you and provide great recommendations to all with a smile.
Photos of volunteers taken at a holiday event last year.
Ellen Moskowitz
Every day, Seth Rudestky and his husband James Wesley interview Broadway stars in an online show called “Stars In The House.” It is about an hour long while they chat and then do a performance from their home!
Ellen smiling for a photo at the annual holiday party.
Nadine Krueger
- Book recommendation: “A Woman is No Man” by Etaf Rum
Louise Vizcaino
- She is putting on music every time she is doing chores and she dances around her entire house while doing them!
Always a smile on Louise’s face!
Jeanne Isaacman
- Book recommendations:
- “Moonglow” by Michael Chabon
- “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens
Vivian Gray, Marty Jones, Vivian Lee, Bill Chambres pose with Kimmel Center staff Laura Marsh and Heather Goforth for a group photo of their holiday table.
Michele Simmons
- She has found a plethora of online activities to keep her entertained and continuously learning during this time:
- Kanopy is a free film site that partners with public libraries. You just need a valid library card and pin number to sign up to access hundreds of films.
- Coursera Blog is an online learning site that is offering selected free classes until May 31.
- USA Today has tons of free games and puzzles!
- The YMCA has free online fitness classes for all sorts of ages, levels, and exercises.
- And finally, The Kitchn has 20 free cooking classes and lots of free recipes and info.
Volunteer Regina Collette wins a prize at last year’s holiday event!
Dyann Paoline
- Book recommendations:
- “The Girl Who Came Home” by Hazel Gaynor
- “Big Lies in a Small Town” by Diane Chamberlain
Eileen Stilwell
- Book recommendation: “The Dutch House” by Anne Patchett
Dyann (left) and Eileen (right) at the annual Volunteer Holiday Party in December 2019.
Ida Wiener Moss
Peg Hallenbeck
- Book recommendations:
- “The Weight of the Ink” by Rachel Kadish
- “The Overstory” by Rachel Powers
A very happy bunch: Sheila Burstein and Richard Levy (standing) with Richard's wife Jeanie Levy and Al Bilofsky (seated).
Barbara White
- She has been using her time taking the AARP Defensive Driving course online. She shared that you can pause and start it back up at any time and it gives you 59 days to complete. It may even help get you a discount on your insurance!
Sharon Furgason
- Many book recommendations:
- “The Long Bright River” by Liz Moore
- “The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell” by Robert Dugoni
- “The Dutch House” by Anne Patchett – she has the audio version which is read by Tom Hanks and she said is absolutely wonderful
- “In Five Years” by Rebecca Serle
- “Regretting You” by Colleen Hoover
Susan Neavil
- Susan has discovered a love of the Dell Fill-In Puzzle books. She found them online and ordered 24 for $23 dollars. Keeps her mind active and they are really fun.
Susan (in red on the right), posing with fellow volunteer before they head home.
Looking for even more great content to enjoy from your home? Look no further! Our Cultural Campus pledges to continue to bring you hope, inspiration, and togetherness…concerts to your couch, opera to your home office, ballet to your front porch, and dance parties to your virtual playdates. This is intermission for our theaters, but you don’t need a ticket for us to bring you happiness, inspiration, or escape. We’ll have so much to celebrate when our curtains rise again, but until then, here is a ticket to togetherness. Because together is our favorite place to be.
Check out our The Show Must Go On page to experience the arts on our digital stages.