I was recently inspired by a quote shared with me that really hit home and made me reflect on all of our amazing volunteers that make Darlington work day after day. The quote by Elizabeth Andrew was shared by Lauren Ledbetter at a thank you breakfast for the Bash Before the Bell volunteers.
“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.”
Wow! Isn’t that the truth?! In this day and age, everyone is busy with work, school, sports, family obligations, as well as just daily life – which makes it that much harder to find time to support organizations near and dear to your heart. So, I wanted to start a blog series to begin to highlight our volunteers who stretch and find the time to go above and beyond for Darlington.
This blog features a Q&A with parent volunteer Lauren Ledbetter. Lauren is married to David (’88) and mom to Henry, Molly and Campbell, all of whom attend Darlington. Being a mother to three beautiful children is a full-time job in and of itself, but Lauren doesn’t stop there. She commits a huge amount of her time to volunteering at Darlington to help make it an even more special place for all of our students and teachers.
Why do you volunteer for Darlington?
The reason I volunteer is because my children and their education is my priority. Darlington is the place that my husband and I chose to provide their education, so I’m happy to support them however I can.
What all ways have you volunteered?
I have had the chance to be involved with many different volunteer opportunities! My first year, I didn’t know what to do, so I just came out for a little bit of everything. You could say I was a soldier, not a general. I helped with different events like Halloween and Christmas decorating and was able to see how it all worked.
Since then, I’ve served as class room mom several times, Darlington Fund class representative, Tiger Pride community chair, Tiger Pride secretary and will serve as Tiger Pride president elect next school year. The largest role I’ve served was as co-chair for the Bash Before the Bell.
Why do you enjoy serving as a volunteer?
I really enjoy getting to know parents from all grades and, most importantly, the camaraderie with them! Also, I’ve been able to get to know everyone at Darlington better, from the teachers to the administrators to members of the facilities team. I hadn’t had the chance to get to know Mr. Tony or Kevin Allen before volunteering!
A lot of people think that their involvement with their child’s school ends with the tuition they pay, but your child’s entire educational experience can be enriched by parent involvement. I appreciate the other parents who feel this way because not one of us can do it by ourselves. It takes each of us and all of our children benefit from it! An added benefit (and I think I can speak for a lot of our volunteers) is that we have fun doing it!
What role/roles have you enjoyed the most?
Room mom is the most fun, hands down! It’s the best way to get to experience Darlington with your child.
Serving as co-chair of the Bash Before the Bell was a lot of hard work, but definitely the most rewarding. It was a huge responsibility and I was scared to death! It is impossible to pull off this event by yourself, so I had to find great volunteers to help me fill in the holes! Fortunately, I found two fantastic co-chairs in Jennifer Merritt and Kimberly Moseley (’87), who have amazing strengths that I don’t. We also had a wonderful committee of volunteers to help make the event all come together. We were obviously hoping to have a successful event, but we were able to do so much better than we could have ever imagined!
Volunteers don’t do what they do for recognition. However, when an event like the Bash Before the Bell is successful, it gives you an awesome sense of accomplishment and pride. The best part about doing it for Darlington is that our children are the ones who receive 100% of the benefit!
What would you tell someone who is considering volunteering their time for Darlington?
Just rip off the band aid and do it! There are so many different ways to get involved. Even if you can only give an hour of your time, it’s a huge help to the Darlington community.
If you have any interest whatsoever and aren't sure where to start or how to get involved, please don’t hesitate to look me up in the directory and call or email me. I know we can find a perfect way for you to volunteer that works with your time and talent!
