Happy New Year!
January is often a time of reflection. A time to pause, take stock, and ask what feels most meaningful as we move into a new year. To check in on our personal alignment.
Living in alignment means different things to different people. For some, it’s about simplifying. For others, it’s about connection, contribution, or finding work that feels natural and genuinely helpful. It’s about using our strengths in ways that matter—to us and to our community.
What’s New
At Neighbors Network, alignment shows up in how we support our Members every day. It means listening carefully, asking thoughtful questions, and coordinating services in a way that feels respectful, efficient, and human. These are deep values of Neighbors Network. As we look ahead, we have listened to our current Volunteer Coordinator of Member Services (read the spotlight on her below). Kat has been a treasure to NN and has approached this role with care and dedication. As her commitment to her own personal alignment requires her to step back from this position, she is helping us better understand what skills and temperament are especially well suited to this kind of work.
This role would be a great fit for someone who is a linear yet creative thinker—someone who enjoys understanding the full picture, asking clarifying questions, and making the Member feel part of the solution. The Volunteer Coordinator – Services is the first point of contact when a Member wants help with something in or around their home. This position takes the time needed to understand what the Member truly wants done, coordinates with Volunteers to arrange the service, and follows through by documenting the details in our online system so everything is tracked clearly from start to finish. Then follows up to learn how it went. Services include occasional household tasks like organizing, decluttering, fix-its, home visits, tech support, yard cleanup, etc.
This is an hourly employee position ($16.50/hour), paid monthly, currently approved at up to approximately 25 hours per month. It involves receiving service requests by phone, speaking directly with Members, coordinating with Volunteers, and keeping our database up to date so we can track the who, what, when and where of each service through completion. The Android phone for this position is provided and paid for by NN. Efficient computer skills are a requirement for this position.
If you—or someone you know—feel drawn to serving your community in this way, and this description resonates, I would love to talk with you. This role is about thoughtful coordination, meaningful connection, accuracy, thoroughness, and helping Members receive the support they need with dignity and ease.
If this sounds like work that would feel aligned and fulfilling for you, please email me your interest and qualifications you believe make you suited for it. I will be glad to schedule a call with you.
Creative Spirits celebrate together
“We had a great time at Veronica’s,” said one of the Volunteers who attended the holiday luncheon Veronica hosted at her home. She loves having company and thoroughly enjoys hosting Creative Spirits each month. Members and Volunteers enjoy chatting while creating. There’s an easy, welcoming, supportive camaraderie among this group.
Upcoming
Julie & Julia – Neighbors Network has arranged to show this 2009 movie on Tuesday, January 20, at 1:45 – 3:45 pm at the Maitland Public Library. It’s the story of a young woman’s admiration for the famous chef Julia Childs, starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams in the title roles. You are welcome to join us, as this is open to the public. It’s free. No RSVP needed. But please be on time, as we must clear the room prior to a 4 pm meeting.
Spotlight on our two Volunteer Coordinators
Neighbors Network could not accomplish all it does without our wonderful Volunteers who provide services they enjoy doing for Members. But, key to connecting Volunteers with Members’ requests and following up to make sure things get done are our two Volunteer Coordinators. They are invaluable, the linchpins coordinating all the requests.
Al has been Volunteer Coordinator for Rides since 2022. He enjoys helping Members get where they want to go for medical and other appointments, shopping, NN social activities and more.
Al enjoys getting acquainted with Members by phone and securing rides for them. “It gives me great satisfaction to know I’m doing something important to them,” he said. “I like this job because I can do it at my pace, in my surroundings, I don’t have to go anywhere. I do it all by phone with the Members and mostly online with the Volunteers. I like the freedom of working remotely wherever I am.” He’s not kidding when he says “wherever I am” because sometimes he’s flying.
“I’m a pilot, it’s an interest I’ve had for years. I got my sea plane rating on the Hackensack River in New Jersey back in 1980. Years later, here in Lake Mary, I met a retired doctor who loved to fly but was losing his eyesight. He owned a seaplane. I’ve been flying with him for four years now so that he can keep flying. He’s still able to get in and out of the plane on his own. I’m always thinking safety.”
Raised in Ridgewood, Queens, NY, Al worked in the telecommunications industry for 37 years, including 18 years with Pan American World Airways. Sometimes he’d commute between South Florida and New York after Pan Am merged with National and offered hourly flights to Tampa, Orlando and Miami. He attributes getting his first job with Pan Am to the rain. He cut through the Pan Am building in Manhattan to avoid walking in the rain and saw their Personnel Office. He stopped in, they had a teletype operator opening he qualified for, he was intrigued, tested well, and was offered the job!
In 2011, he retired early to assist with a family emergency. He continues to care for his 90+ year old uncle who lives independently in Lakeland.
Al enjoys getting to know the Members, “each one is unique,” he says. You’d think they would just call to request a ride, but some tell him why they’re going where they’re going and fill him in on bits of their personal history. He takes that to heart.
Al’s big heart and detail-oriented brain make him a real asset to Neighbors Network.
Volunteer Coordinator-Services – Kathleen Kelly
Kat is recently retired from 37 years teaching and leadership of a teacher’s union on Long Island, NY. Raised in Maitland, she looked forward to returning to be close to family. Her mom is NN Founder Annette Kelly, so she knew all about Neighbors Network. When the Volunteer Coordinator-Services role opened at the end of 2024, she applied and got the role. Her positive attitude, focus on working with others with empathy, humor and compassion, and experience working with parents of students in sometimes challenging situations, all contributed to her being a good fit for this role.
Kat and her siblings decided with their parents years ago that they would like to grow older living together in a compound they would create. Now they are living that vision. Kat and one of her sisters share the home she designed for them and their parents, with separate, private, comfortable quarters at either end.
Kat has many hobbies and talents, like baking sourdough bread, gardening, and her own YouTube channel titled “The Retirement Pivot” focused on living in this new chapter in life. She has decided to step away from this Volunteer Coordinator role to be able to develop these further. We are delighted she will continue volunteering because she’s so good with the Members and a real asset with her variety of skills.
“This job is very rewarding,” she said. “I am loathe to leave it because you feel like you’re part of a solution. I’ve connected with so many great Volunteers willing to help. And the appreciation of the Members is immeasurable. Feeling that appreciation is really nice. I look forward to continuing to volunteer. But stepping away from this role will enable me to pursue some personal goals I want to focus on in 2026.”
Thank you, Kat, for all you’ve done in this role. We look forward to you continuing as a Volunteer, which you’ve exhibited you do so well with your many skills and generous spirit!
As always, thank you!
Thank you, dear readers, for your support in 2025. We greatly appreciate you. If you haven’t had a chance yet to donate to our fundraiser and would like to, please visit our website at https://neighborsnetworkfl.org/donate.
Wishing each of you a year of countless moments of joy,