Ordinarily, the announcement of the VVV starts out with cryptic facts about the selection—reviewing their background and many contributions in the past to the Assistance League, There is then a surprise revelation at the end with the grand announcement Not this time. It will be immediately apparent whom we are recognizing as soon as I start.
Of all the accomplishments of the Assistance League of Minneapolis St. Paul, the work we are recognizing today arguably has the most profound impact on our organization in its history. We are today celebrating the PENN Space Implementation Team and their incredible work:
Susan Dolan, Chair, and hard-working members Sandy Kosmicki, Nancy Larson, and Nancy Kloehn.
Their efforts have created PENN Space, from an intangible and ambitious notion dreamed up by the Ad Hoc Committee of the Board. Their work has done more to unify us as an organization, modernize our operations, provide a showplace for our retail and online shops, our first ever Chapter Conference room, and well-organized and dedicated space for all our philanthropic programs. It is a miracle of accomplishment, done on an incredibly tight schedule, working with a sometimes “interesting” landlord, all within budget.
To list everything, they have done to give us this miracle would be impossible. The number of hours spent by the team is formidable. It is not an overstatement to say that it was often “morning, noon and night” We sometimes thought they were sleeping there.
In doubling our total space, and using professional design consulting, the team laid out a logical work flow for all our teams, creating efficient building usage, accounting for such unique needs as the delivery of pallets of food for Food for Kids, creating a well-lit and spacious area for the Online team’s work, accounting for the vast storage needs of all our teams, providing work areas for not only thrift shop operations but for every other team, such as ASK and book storage. Making space for all our “stuff” was a feat in itself.
They were creative in finding resources through in-kind and monetary donations, and liberal use of volunteers (like enlisting carpenters to create brand new dressing rooms). They recruited partners, spouses, and grown children of members who gave their time, talents and pure brawn to move, disassemble and reassemble shelving, tables and cabinets. Using energy efficient lighting, they were able to receive an energy rebate. They installed professional IT support for our unified operations.
Yes, Assistance League is one terrific organization, now all unified under one roof, and daily interactions of all our volunteers is now common. We are no longer “us” and “them,” “thrift shop” and “programs,” we are one Assistance League, and this team of four talented and hard-working women made it happen.
They are our “Very, Very Valuable Volunteers“ for this month , And we will recognize them with an engraved plaque in the Penn SPACE Conference Room, where we will gratefully recall and continue to celebrate their amazing accomplishments.
Please join me in congratulating, celebrating and thanking Susan Dolan, Sandy Kosmicki, Nancy Larson, and Nancy Kloehn. We have been blessed with their efforts in an enduring way.