Member Spotlight

Manager of Volunteer Services 
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center

Carol Passerell is the Manager of Volunteer Services at University Hospitals' Cleveland Medical Center (UHCMC). UHCMC is one of the nation's leading academic medical centers and is known for providing exceptional healthcare for the residents of NEO. UHCMC, a level one trauma center for both adults and children, has over 1,000 beds and is located in the heart of Cleveland's University Circle. UHCMC includes general medical, intensive care and surgical units as well as Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital and Seidman Cancer Center.

Carol has been with UHCMC for 23 years. During that time, Carol has really enjoyed the life-long relationships she has formed with her volunteers. She says, "volunteers truly become part of my family. It is an honor to be surrounded by people who give selflessly." Carol defines a successful volunteer as one that serves as an ambassador for the organization. She affirms that successful volunteers give as much as they get in return. Last November Carol received the opportunity to become a co-handler for a UH Facility Dog named Loki. She attended training at Canine Assistants located in Georgia with her colleagues in order to take Loki home. Loki lifts the spirits of patients, families and staff at UH and has quickly become a part of the UH Family.

After many years working in volunteer administration, Carol has great advice for those that would like to pursue a career in the field. "Be ready to wear many different hats. Seeing our job descriptions in writing merely outlines a very small portion of our duties. We are marketers, HR specialists, trainers, computer specialists, fundraisers, the list is endless. Our skill set makes us natural leaders and only other volunteer administrators truly understand our role." I think we can all agree with that statement! Carol continues, "It can be a challenging profession, however, the satisfaction that you will receive working with volunteers makes it worthwhile." Carol embraces the volunteer administration community as she serves on the FVA Board and has been heavily involved in the planning and coordination of the FVA Annual Conference in the fall.

When Carol is not working and training Loki, she enjoys spending time with her family and hopes to one day travel to France to see the Eiffel Tower with her husband and daughter. Carol says "Life is fragile and can change in the blink of an eye. Enjoy the good things in your life and recognize they are a gift. Make a difference every day and try to live without regret." Carol lives by this motto and truly makes a difference every single day to her volunteers and the UH community. We are so lucky to have Carol a part of the FVA community. Carol, thank you for all you do!

Organization Spotlight

Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens

The arrival of March and a glimpse of warmer weather has us itching to go outdoors and watch for green things springing up from the ground. Spring is a time of new beginnings, and for Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in Northwest Akron, it is almost time for the estate’s re-opening for another season.

Open April – December, Stan Hywet welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors to tour the 64,500 square foot Tudor Revival Manor House and enjoy the splendor of ten landscaped gardens, carefully preserved over more than one hundred years. Stan Hywet is the former home of F.A. Seiberling, co-founder of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, and his family. They lived at the estate from 1915 until 1955, when upon F.A.’s passing, his children gifted the entire remaining property to the Akron community to function as a nonprofit museum and gardens. As their family motto, Non Nobis Solum “Not for Us Alone,” carved above the door to the Manor House implies, the Seiberlings intended Stan Hywet to be a gathering place for everyone to enjoy, and their legacy of giving is carried on by the estate’s fiercely devoted and passionate volunteers.

Since Stan Hywet’s opening as a public museum in 1957, the efforts of volunteers have ensured daily operations and special events run smoothly and the estate’s vast collection and grounds are protected. Today, more than 600 volunteers perform a variety of tasks or fill roles within the estate’s organizational departments, and with a multitude of ways to get involved, there is something for everyone, whether you want to volunteer weekly as a tour guide or gardener or just assist with a special event or two. “Without volunteers, Stan Hywet would have likely met the same fate as many historic and now demolished homes in Northeast Ohio. They were instrumental in bringing the estate ‘back to life,’ in the 1950s and 60s and are just as instrumental today. Working with such dedicated individuals is absolutely what inspired me to seek out a job here,” says Emma Rainear, Volunteer Coordinator and FVA member. “Along with the gardens blooming all around you, spring is also when we welcome new seasonal staff members and volunteers to our team. It’s an amazing time to be at Stan Hywet.”

For more information check out: https://www.stanhywet.org/