VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

Mary Jeanne Fletcher

Real Stories About Real People

Volunteering Brings Its Own Reward

Mary Jeanne Fletcher is a retired math professor from Jefferson Community College which is part of the University of Kentucky higher education program in Louisville, KY.  An ADA volunteer since 1992, she volunteers five days a week, sometimes up to nine hours a day.  It all started while she was still teaching.  She was required to partake in community service as part of her performance review, picked up an ADA pamphlet on volunteering at a nearby hospital, and has been with the Association ever since.

Fletcher is no stranger to the disease.  She was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes back in 1978.  Prior to becoming an ADA volunteer she was already aware of the importance of keeping her blood sugar under control.  Through volunteering, she wanted to learn more about her disease and help people who are dealing with it.  She is active in her church, loves going to the Derby Dinner Playhouse and the theater at the Center for the Arts, and enjoys spending time with her family.

Fletcher is a volunteer who may not be involved in the “glamour” activities but does the everyday work that offices are always in need of.  She has volunteered with both Shana Funk who is with ADA’s National Youth Initiatives Department and JoAnn Driver with Government Affairs and Advocacy in the Kentucky office.  They both describe her as an insightful, hardworking person with a sense of humor, one who likes to stay busy.  A lot of her contributions are through administrative work, from sending approximately 6,500 birthday cards to every single child who attends ADA’s Summer Camps yearly for the past three years, to mailing information packets to people and taking random surveys over the phone on customer satisfaction, to bulk mailings -- you name it, she does it all and gets the job done!

For Fletcher, being able to help people gives her a lot of satisfaction.  She has learned that there is help available for people who do not know where to go and resources for people who cannot afford to buy their medications.  She says people are grateful for any kind of help, whether it’s a kind word or pointing them in the right direction from the Association. For her, making a difference in someone’s life is very rewarding.

Send feedback to volunteerupdates@diabetes.org.