Volunteers . . . at the heart
of Casa Ursulina
Equipo de Coordinación
The first Monday of every month is a special time for the 20-some members of the "Equipo de Coordinación"" . . . the Coordination Team of Casa Ursulina.
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We hardly have enough space in our meeting room (our kitchen!)
for our monthly meeting of the volunteer Coordination Team.
Here Sister Mimi (front) and the team stop for a moment to pose
for Sister Ruth behind the camera. Some of these women are
among the seven founders of Casa Ursulina. Others have
come more recently. All share their experience, ideas, energies,
and dedication
to support the ministry of Casa Ursulina. |
Their meeting time is part business and part celebration, as they plan with Sister Mimi for upcoming activities and share a simple repast
. . . usually sandwiches, cookies, and tea.
The Coordination Team includes the volunteer monitorias (teachers) of all the courses offered at Casa Ursulina, together with those who volunteer for other tasks . . . about 30 women in all.
When the time comes to organize the work for events at Casa Ursulina, the members of this Equipo are always in the lead. This includes two annual fundraisers: the Plato Unico, a plate lunch party in June, and the Peña, a celebration, with food and dancing, of Chile's Independence Day in September.
These volunteers head up the "commissions" which peel potatoes, cut up lettuce and cabbage for salad, cook the meat in our adobe oven, and prepare all the other food and help to serve it. And of course there are endless dishes to wash, and a strenuous post-event cleanup. The generous women of Casa Ursulina make all these things happen, with enthusiastic leadership from the Coordination Team.
 Other events Sister Mimi and the team will be planning this year include a Mother's Day celebration in May, the Winter Solstice observance in mid June, a weeklong anniversary celebration in August, and a big end-of-the-year party in early December. In addition, they discuss new possibilities and address concerns and needs of the house.
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In the photo at right, Clarina packs bags of meet for the freezer in preparation for the Plato Unico in early June. Juan, our sheep-farmer friend, donated four lambs, which were slaughtered and prepared with the help of other friends and of Don Hugo, our neighborhood butcher.
Clarina's husband, Jaime, provided a lot of help, as did her granddaughter, Catarina (in photo), who carried the plastic bags to be packed. Clarina, a longtime member of the CU community and of the Coordination Team, is always a generous helper when there's work to be done. |
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Taller Voluntario
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Some members of the Taller Voluntario enjoy a break to celebrate Sister
Ruth's birthday on April 4. Clockwise from front left: Ofelia, Meche, Gabriela, Isabel, Janette, Sister Ruth, Mirta, Carmen, and Dina. |
"Taller" (tah-YARE) is the Spanish word for "workshop." Most of the classes at Casa Ursulina are really workshops, in which women help each other learn and work together, under the direction of a volunteer monitora.
The Taller Voluntario is a special workshop and a tradition at Casa Ursulina. Their work consists in taking apart used clothing and other donated material and transforming it into warm and pretty bedcovers for the poor and elderly of our población.
It's a lively bunch, with a core of veterans who have been working together for years, and always some newcomers who are attracted by the ministry and the high spirits of the group. They are all expert seamstresses who are proud of their work and happy to be helping their neighbors in need.
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Janette and Gladys enjoy putting together the decorated top of a bedcover in preparation for inserting the "napa," or batting, and sewing all the pieces together. |
xxYolanda, Carmen, and Ofelia put the finishing xxtouches on a bedcover that will be delivered to a xxneedy person in the población. |
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