Angela Pustorino

In November, when Diane Bedecarre had just cut back her nursing hours to part time, the self-described “workaholic” wasted no time in filling her schedule. One of the first things she did was complete a COTS volunteer application.

But if you think Diane was speedy, you haven’t met COTS Community Engagement Specialist Diana Morales!

Diane clicked “submit” on her application and went out of a walk. She’d gotten half a block and her phone rang. “It was Diana,” Diane says. “She wanted to know when I could start.”

Diane eventually ended up on our Tuesday team and loved it immediately. She loved the camaraderie and the jokes in the kitchen and on the serving line. She loved the great meals and the commitment to using our community’s food resources wisely and well. She loved the “Dewey Decimal System” that volunteer Rick Royball had created in the pantry. She loved meeting our guests.

But what clinched it for her was a coffee break conversation she had with Marge Popp, the elder stateswoman of all our volunteers. It was Diane’s second day, and “Marge asked me what I thought we could be doing better.”

What Marge didn’t know yet about Diane is that systems are a passion for her. After a long career as a Medical Surgical Nurse at Marin General Hospital (a profession that, in addition to medical skills, requires talents for organization, multi-tasking and people management), Diane went back to school to earn her Master’s degree in Nursing Education and Informatics. As a result, she became involved with a groundbreaking electronic medical record project for the VA. Post grad school, medical informatics became her profession. Diane specialized in training end users and in communicating the needs of nurses and doctors to developers. “A system isn’t any good if people won’t use it,” she says. “It has to meet our needs.”

“So, it was a kick to have this old gal ask me what we could do better. Here she is, doing quality management improvement. I just loved it,” Diane says. “I thought, ‘I am going to fit in here.’”

Diane’s fit for nursing became clear to her when, in 1978, shortly after graduating from SSU, she volunteered to be her sister’s Lamaze coach. She thrilled to the birth process but also to the way the doctors and nurses worked so efficiently and kindly with each other and their patients. “It was a holy card moment, an epiphany for me,” she says. “I knew, ‘This is what I want to do.’” Her niece was born in December and she enrolled in nursing prerequisites in January.

She and her artist/musician husband Henry raised their two children in Petaluma, so she was aware of COTS’ founding and operations. “I followed it in the news,” she says, and she and Henry have been steadfast financial supporters. “But, until now, I haven’t had the time to volunteer.”

When it comes to volunteering, Diane takes inspiration from her parents. They were both teachers, active in social justice campaigns and in providing support and guidance for other teachers. Her Mom has passed, but her Dad, at 98, is still doing what he can to make a difference. Diane loves the fact that he’s still writing checks for the causes he believes in, still glued to MSNBC and—most of all—that he pays his caregiver to make her incredible enchiladas every week for the residents of a nearby homeless shelter.

She shares caregiving opportunities for her Dad, so she has to absent herself from volunteer work at COTS for now. “I miss it. I can’t wait to get back,” she says.

Thank you, Diane!

A smile on her face, a spring in her step and with a million stories to entertain her fellow volunteers—that’s how Shirley Donovan shows up to work at Mary’s Table.

“I miss it so much,” she says from her home, where she is observing the shelter in place order. “I really can’t wait to get back.” Shirley loves her Wednesday lunch team, which includes Marge Popp, Jacky Evans and Bob Rich. “We work well together, side-by-side, whether it’s making a salad, peeling potatoes or serving our clients. We always seem to find things to talk and laugh about! Even though we come from different backgrounds we’re all here because it’s a way of giving back to our community.” Shirley says.

Diana Morales, who coordinates volunteer scheduling and training, says she admires “the way Shirley shows up. She works hard. She’s dedicated. She wants to make sure everyone has enough to eat and that everyone has a good time.”

“And she never stops moving,” Diana says. “She may be a senior citizen, but she sure doesn’t move like one!”

That same energy and dedication marked Shirley’s professional life. She blazed trails for women, taking on leadership roles (in marketing and research) with Gillette, Wilson Sporting Goods and Dakin Toys. And she did it on her own terms.

“My second interview with Wilson, I decided, ‘I’m going to wear a pantsuit. If they can’t deal with that, they can’t deal with me.’”

Wilson proved equal to the task.

Shirley was the first woman executive Wilson hired, and she is forever grateful for the mentorship and opportunities the company provided. If you are a fan of 70s tennis, try to work a volunteer shift alongside Shirley, who can regale you with tales about Chris Everett, Jimmy Connors and Billie Jean King.

She came to San Francisco when Dakin Toys lured her away from her native Chicago to be their Director of Special Markets. After only a few weeks in San Francisco, Shirley realized that “Chicago is a nice place to visit but California is where I want to live.” In San Francisco, Shirley was finally able to own a dog, an experience that changed her life.

After 30 years in corporate offices, Shirley changed direction in 1995 and became an on-staff dog trainer for the San Francisco SPCA.  She might even still be there if it wasn’t for those pesky stairs at her San Francisco condo—there were 37 of them!

Always athletic, Shirley’s had her share of medical issues. When her condo steps became an unpleasant daily challenge (following bi-lateral knee replacements) she moved to a one level home in Petaluma. She started volunteering with COTS in 2014 and quickly became a dedicated team member; just as quickly, these team members became friends.

The depth of their friendship became clear while she was recovering from ankle replacement surgery in 2018. “Marge would send home lunch to me every Wednesday. She and my other team members would call to check up on me,” Shirley says. “Those are the kind of things that mean a lot.”

Shirley also enjoys the residents that she works with and serves.

“It’s so rewarding when folks finish eating and make a point of not leaving without saying ‘Thank You! Thank you for doing this.'”

“Janin, our new chef, is amazing. She’s a great delegator and, for a volunteer, is fun to work for. Some of the residents have culinary skills and it’s great having them help in the kitchen as well. Somehow, we all connect,” Shirley says.

Shirley lives with her two dogs, Annie and Tad. She takes exercise classes at the Senior Center and works out at a local gym. She’s also active with New Life Christian Fellowship in Petaluma.

Her advice to people who are thinking about volunteering: “Check it out! I did 6 years ago and kept going back—I find volunteering at COTS to be both rewarding and fun!”

Thank you, Shirley!

Every nonprofit needs a strong board. Its members should bring to the table a variety of skills, a willingness to work hard, and a collective wealth of experience.

But no matter how diverse the board, the common denominator must be passion for the mission and a drive to share it.

For Curt Peters, father of three boys between the ages of five and ten, the reason to serve—the passion to serve—is clear. “There are homeless children in a tough situation,” he says, “kids in our elementary school.”

“It’s so important for COTS to provide them with a foundation and a springboard. Knowing that they have a roof over the heads, just like my kids do, knowing that they have internet access and can keep up with their school…that feels good.”

At 35, Curt is the Director of Finance for Enphase Energy, a solar energy tech company with offices in Petaluma. In his spare time, he’s earning his MBA from UC Berkeley.

COTS CEO Chuck Fernandez is grateful for Curt’s business acumen and his social amenity. When Curt weighs in on an issue, “it is always with the highest amount of respect, courtesy and professionalism,” Chuck says.

Curt looks forward to the day when he and many others of his generation can contribute even more.

“People my age, we’re getting kids to school, we’re getting established, we’re busy,” he says. “I’m learning from the seasoned board members so that one day the torch can be passed.”

Right now, Curt is happy that his board assignments give him flexibility. Depending on the time he has available, he can make thank you calls, speak at a function or invite people to COTS events.

“It doesn’t matter how busy we are, we can step up,” he says. “Everything counts. If you can deliver a food box, if you can donate something. It all counts.”

Curt’s inspired to volunteer by his faith and good examples in his life like his wife Catherine, who volunteers “non-stop,” Curt says. Catherine has thrown on an apron to volunteer in COTS’ food programs and she also helps in her children’s classrooms.

A numbers guy, Curt wishes there was a way to reckon the benefit of COTS’ services to the entire community. “COTS impacts all of us in this incredible way,” he says. “Whether it’s less of a demand for hospital services, cleaner streets, kids doing better in school. There are all these things that we wouldn’t recognize unless they were gone.”

Thank you for your service, Curt!

“Your life is worth my time.”

That’s the motto of mask-makers across the country.  That’s the reason that in just two weeks, a band of volunteer seamsters has been able to supply over 1,000 homemade masks–enough for every COTS shelter resident and staff member as well as staff and clients of many more local organizations.

And they’re not stopping there.  The April 17 order obliging the use of masks created an even bigger need.

“The Maskateers” began work on April 7, when retired SRJC administrator KC Greaney posted on Facebook asking for volunteers.

She was quickly answered by Kaye Burfoot, a Petaluma High grad, who quickly ran up two dozen colorful, many-layered masks.

KC, together with organizer Russ Powell, recruited over 20 more women to cut and sew in their homes. They share fabrics, patterns and materials. One-by-one, they drop their creations on KC’s front porch. She then launders and packages them for pick-up.

“Gazing around at our shelter clients, each one protected and cared for by this group of generous and talented local citizens has been one of my true joys during this turbulent time,” says COTS Director of Programs Jules Pelican.  “We extend tremendous thanks to KC Greaney who has headed up this effort and to the entire group for their generosity of heart.” KC was just named “Hero of the Week” by Marin’s Partnership Resources Group.

Making a mask can take from 30 to 60 minutes, Kaye says. Masks for the children in our programs can take even longer. We estimate our seamsters have collectively contributed somewhere between 450 and 900 hours to the effort.

Who are they and why do they do this work?

At 19, Kaye is one of the youngest. She’s a novelist, 500-pages into a fantasy about an unjustly deposed king who travels his kingdom incognito, helping his subjects wherever he can. Kaye works for a wholesale florist. Like many, her hours have been cut, and she wanted to do something good with her extra time. She’s been active in the Sunrise movement, which combats climate change, so she knows the impact and importance of activism. “I wanted to find something I could do to help,”’ she says. “And I had all this extra fabric. Once I got through it all and I got connected, they sent me more fabric and supplies.”

Except for Russ, the group is completely female. And completely impressive! There are academics, scientists, artists and musicians, legal professionals, administrators, medical professionals, researchers, costumers and quilters.

Studies indicate that the use of masks reduces the risks of virus transmission.  “I want to give back to healthcare workers who risk their lives every day to care for us,” one seamster said. “More specifically, I want to give back to my community—and there aren’t very many opportunities to do that right now.”

Many of the volunteers have never met each in person, but they have a lively back-and-forth through email and social media and will no doubt enjoy wonderful get-togethers when the shelter in place order is lifted.

On behalf of COTS and all the other organizations receiving these volunteer-crafted masks: thank you, Masketeers!

Many of our regular volunteers face higher risks should they contract COVID-19. We encourage them to stay home and return to volunteering only when things are safer.

In our food programs, especially, we’re feeling the volunteer labor shortage. That’s because new safety protocols mean more work. We serve meals to our residents in shifts, cleaning and sanitizing after each seating. We provide table service to keep people from congregating in lines. And for non-residents, we serve meals to-go.

To date, no one in COTS programs or on our staff has tested positive for COVID-19! We know that’s part luck, but it’s also down to our commitment to social distancing, impeccable hygiene, and clear rules and expectations.

All hail the COTS staff members who have risen to the challenge in a magnificent fashion. They are Chef Janin Harmon, Food Services Manager Max Knerler, Food Services Assistant Nichole Bankson, Outreach Specialist Jeff Schueller, and our CEO Chuck Fernandez, who serves lunch almost every day. Many, many thanks to the resident volunteers who have committed to providing meals and safe conditions for their peers.

And many, many thanks to the community volunteers—new and continuing—who have stepped up during the shelter-in-place order. Though we’re careful to follow all prescribed safety protocols, we know our volunteers, like our frontline staff, exhibit both compassion and bravery when they walk through our doors.

Ben Leviloff, 18, is a new volunteer. And a newcomer to Petaluma. He graduated high school early and is bound for college in the fall to study Math.

When the epidemic struck, he had just started his own math tutoring company, which he quickly moved online. “My two passions are math and teaching. So, doing this is a win-win.”

When the shelter-in-place order hit, he wanted to do something to help, but he knew almost nothing about his new town. He surfed around on his phone and found COTS. And are we ever happy he did.

He’s been helping in the kitchen every Monday for the last month. After suiting up with mask, gloves and apron, Ben spends the first part of his day sorting food. He refrigerates the perishables, stores the shelf-stables and composts the unsalvageable. Then, Food Services Manager Max Knerler will put him to work prepping food for the following day. One day, he’ll crack eggs for two hours. On another, he may chop peppers.

Then it’s time to get ready for dinner. Ben will help serve up meals: in to-go boxes for non-residents and on plates for residents. Come 5 p.m., residents start coming in the door in shifts of 12. Each sits at his or own table, appropriately distanced from all the others. Ben will deliver a meal, take a drink order and engage in a little friendly chat–more and more chat each week.

“I am not the life skills-type guy. I like a good book in the classroom. I’m shy until I get comfortable in my environment,” Ben says. “But after a few weeks, I’ve been building up confidence. We’re having more conversations. And they [the residents] have been building up confidence in me that I’ll come back.”

Diners are “incredibly well-mannered and nice,” Ben says. “I already knew it, but it just shows you shouldn’t judge people by their appearance.”

Like everybody these days, our resident are under a lot of stress. Ben saw someone break down in tears the last time he was in. “It struck me how much the situation is affecting people there. Hopefully, I’m helping a little. Hopefully, they can manage until this is over.”

“When I’ve gone through struggles, I’ve always had key people around me who have helped and guided me. I’ve come to appreciate them,” he says, “especially in recent years. They’ve taught me how important it is to pay it forward and to live a meaningful life. Doing things for others is what makes you happy.”

From his still-limited experience of COTS, he sees it as a place where people can regain security and find housing. And the food programs are essential to that: “Everybody should be well fed and taken care of while they’re in the process of finding stability. In fact, you can’t find stability without having the basics.”

He lives with his parents, who were initially concerned about his volunteering, fearing that Ben would encounter risks at COTS. But he explained our safety protocols and they now support his efforts.

Outside of his tutoring work and his volunteering, Ben is using shelter-in-place to work on his running, with a goal of completing a half marathon by the end of the summer. He’s also keeping in touch with friends.

His advice to people thinking about volunteering: “Get yourself out there.” You may or may not want to volunteer in a way that gets you out of your home, but “with every situation, there’s an opportunity.”

Thank you, Ben!

“The lady’s here,” a little boy announces as he plops his big backpack down on a table and pulls out a handful of slightly crumpled worksheets.

The “lady” is Marie Schmittroth, and she’s at our Kids First Family Shelter for Homework Club. “Every Tuesday from 3 to 5,” Marie says, “I’m there. And every Tuesday is different.”  Last week was heavy on adding and subtracting fractions.  This week may bring California history, vocabulary words, spelling drills, times tables or an art project.

“They just need to hear ‘You can do it,’ most of the time” Marie says.  “I can help them feel capable. And when you feel capable, then you want to do your homework.”

“That was fast,” she tells a fifth-grader who’s just completed a long word problem. “And that’s right. You figured out that they just threw those extra numbers in to keep things interesting.”

“You’ve got that decimal in the right place,” she tells another. “Now, how much money does that make?”

“Good, good, good.” That’s the constant refrain from Marie, and it’s the refrain that keeps kids focused on their work, confident that they can do it.

Marie’s been a fixture of our children’s program for years, providing tutoring and childcare. Her first day with us was “overwhelmingly toddlers,” she says. “It was the most stunning thing to see little kids who are so alive and open and coming into who they are.  I fell in love with toddler care.”

A highlight for her from her time at COTS is her relationship with a little 8-year-old boy we’ll call “Benjamin.” Benjamin is non-verbal and highly sensitive. For his mom to attend a class, we needed a one-on-one companion for him—someone who could take him out of the childcare room if things got too raucous or overwhelming. Marie and Benjamin spent two-and-a-half hours every Monday night just wandering around the San Antonio High School campus, with Benjamin pulling Marie by the hand and stopping every now and then to examine something: a section of chain link fence, a soda can, a leaf, a plastic toy.  He frequently waited for Marie’s reaction before moving on or taking another look at something.

“To slow down and be able to quietly connect with him was lovely,” Marie says. She stays in touch with Benjamin and his mom, who have been in their own rental housing for years.

Marie also treasures the relationships she’s made with other kids—especially the kids who challenge her or are hard to reach.  “As a person who had a childhood with a lot of upheaval, I don’t come to this thinking that the kids are going to be all light and sunshine and laughter,” Marie says. “I like building relationships and trust.”

“It’s important for everybody to know they’re worth somebody’s time and that they’re valued. It’s a gift to me that I can help someone know they have worth and value.”