Community volunteers help
host campus cultural events

Senior volunteers in front of Alumni Hall are (from left, front row) Barbara Murray, Jane Tripp, Rose Gulley and Marge Frantz; (second row) Jean Williams, Shannon Hardee, Dorothy Moser and Chuck Frantz; (top row) Tom Murray and Bill Mathias. Photo by Kathy Flickinger

When the director of the Office of Alumni and University Relations needed volunteers to staff its Performing Arts Series (PAS) for the 2000-2001 season, the answer was nearby at the Newark Senior Center.

"I called Jean Williams, executive director of the center about a year ago, looking for volunteers for Commencement," Sharon Dorr, alumni and University relations, said. "Then, I visited the Newark Senior Center and talked to a group of interested volunteers.

The group of active seniors, which includes retired University faculty, staff and alumni, welcomed the opportunity to help out at PAS events in return for free tickets to the performances at which they served as volunteer hosts and ushers.

"Sharon got the ball rolling, and when I came on last December, I started to put the program to work," Robert Snyder, alumni and University relations said. "The first event for the volunteers was Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."

Recently, at an end-of-season reception in Alumni Hall, volunteers shared some of their experiences, including working that very first show in Mitchell Hall.

"The kids had read the story (by Judith Viorst), and when scenes from the book were played out on stage, the children in the audience would repeat the words," Barbara Murray of Newark said. "They loved it."

Murray and her husband, Tom, who both moved to the area about a year ago from Norwalk, Conn., describe themselves as "professional volunteers," offering their time and energy to a wide variety of community organizations.

Barbara Murray, whose chores sometimes included handing out lollipops to young theatre patrons, said that one of the joys in this work is watching parents and children really enjoy themselves together.

"The shows are wonderful, and we love seeing the children react," she said. "They really get involved, and the parents seem to enjoy themselves almost as much."

Retired UD employees Chuck and Marge Frantz, who first learned about the program through a notice in the senior center's newsletter, thought that volunteering would fit in nicely with their interest in the arts.

"I enjoy meeting people," Chuck Frantz, who retired from Dining Services in 1987, said. "We hand out programs and sometimes help seat people. It's fun, and keeps you active."

Marge Frantz, who retired from the payroll department at Facilities in 1991, said that volunteering at PAS events is a great way to meet people and see a good show.

"We enjoy volunteering," she said. "My husband and I are involved in many volunteering activities, including the Blood Bank of Delaware and Eastern Shore, Hagley Museum and Library and the Newark United Methodist Church."

Fellow volunteers honored at the reception included Bill Matthias, Irene Montoya, Ted and Jody Phelps, Pat Pherris, Ann Zwilgmeyer, UD retiree Rose Gulley, Dorothy Moser, associate professor emerita of nursing, and UD alumna Jane Tripp, CHEP '75 M.

For Snyder, having such volunteers working PAS events is a great way to bring alumni and retired employees back to UD.

"It's a nice partnership that has served the University and the Newark Senior Center well," Snyder said. "UD benefits from their services, and the volunteers get to interact with the patrons."

–Jerry Rhodes