Lori Rux and Ann Dodds courtesy of Trent Findlay
Have you ever wondered how the magic happens when you log into your directory or who processes your contribution? Well, the answer is the incredible duo of Lori and Ann. Every organization needs a strong, dependable foundation and these two Girlfriends are part of that foundation. Lori is the engineer who helped us design and implement our MembershipWorks software when we switched over a few years ago and Ann has generously given of her time and talents be sure everything gets processed in an accurate and timely manner and makes visits to the post office regularly to retrieve our mail. And this is just the tip of the iceberg of the magic they make for all of us!
We thought you might enjoy learning a little more about them…
LORI RUX
What brought you to ninety-nine girlfriends? In 2018, a friend (Debra Vinikour) who was already a member invited me to attend a World Café. I did attend and after learning about the organization’s approach to grantmaking and the significant contributions being made to the local community, I really wanted to be involved. So I joined! During the past several years, I have participated in the annual voting process and have attended a number of educational programs. As a result, I have a much better understanding of the wide range of issues and problems facing so many people in our community as well as the work non-profits are doing to help address them. I have also met a lot of wonderful, inspiring women of many ages, backgrounds and circumstances. It's magical seeing so many experienced and capable women leading the organization and getting things done! I tell everyone about the work we do and how we do it. Our story never fails to impress.
Why do you volunteer? In my view, a strong point of ninety-nine girlfriends is that it keeps administrative costs to a minimum in order to provide the greatest financial support to our impact partners and, consequently, the clients they serve. This efficiency would not be possible or sustainable without a large cadre of volunteers. From the top down, every activity and event is planned, organized and carried out by volunteers.
One day, our newsletter included a request for volunteers having various types of skills. I’m a retired electrical engineer and so I thought perhaps I could put my technical background to good use. Long story short, I agreed to join the Membership Committee and it’s been an enriching and rewarding experience ever since. Through this assignment, I have worked closely with and gotten to know a number of other Girlfriends—very special people!
Anything else that you would like to share? It’s so natural to look around and see problems and just expect that someone else should fix them. It’s also far too common to not even be aware of the hurt and crises within our very own community. I love that ninety-nine girlfriends works hard and transparently to identify the most pressing issues and enable actions that will have a positive impact. Our non-profit partners are true visionaries who are committed to serving our community and building a better future. I feel privileged to play a small role in the ninety-nine girlfriends giving circle and to be someone who sees the problems but focuses on the solutions.
ANN DODDS
What brought you to ninety-nine girlfriends? I was recruited by one of the founding Girlfriends (Eileen Brady).
Why do you volunteer? I like that I can help in a little way that is still important. The work has a couple of busy periods in a year but otherwise I just get to sit back and appreciate the hard work everyone else is doing. I tried something different my first year and that kind of stressed me out; this suits my skills and time availability better.
Anything else you’d like to share? I have met some great women doing the work and like that a fully volunteer organization means most of the funds raised are used for giving. Time commitment is variable and pretty flexible especially since Lori and I share the work. If someone else would like to help out that would work for me. I like being part of a team to get the work done.
Are you a volunteer Girlfriend? We’d love to spotlight you. Please contact Tammy to learn more.