Employee Spotlight: Martha Coronado
Martha Coronado was the Center for Human Services (CHS) Volunteer of the Year for 2016, and now she is a CHS employee at our Ceres Partnership. We sat down with her recently to talk about her experience as a volunteer and as an employee.
What is your current position at CHS?
I’m a Family Resource Specialist at the Ceres Partnership.
How did you get involved with CHS as a volunteer?
I was in the Welfare to Work program and I had never heard of CHS before until I got a letter about a childcare volunteer position there. The night before I was supposed to go in for my interview, I researched the organization to get familiar with it before my meeting and my husband and I drove over to McHenry Village to find it. I went in the next day and met with Maria Lopez and she told me more about the organization and about the volunteer position in Ceres which was a child care position watching over kids while their mothers were attending classes. I was so nervous about the whole thing.
What were your tasks as a volunteer?
I started out as a child care volunteer, but I wanted to learn everything. I then trained in admin and class tasks so that I could cover for people when they were out. I also helped organize the daily donations we get from Walmart.
How did you transition from volunteering to being an employee?
I started as a volunteer in July of 2015 and then in May I interviewed for a paid position at the Ceres Partnership. I was so nervous for the interview and did not feel good about it at all afterwards. I didn’t get the position, but I wanted to stay at CHS instead of being placed somewhere new by the Welfare to Work program. I fought for a second chance here. I said that I had more to learn and space to grow. Jennifer Rangel helped me show the Welfare to Work program that I’ve grown. I was allowed to stay for another 6 months and I was really excited to get to stay here. 2 weeks later I got a call that I was being given a second chance to interview for the position that I didn’t get before. I practiced a lot with my coworkers for the interview, but I told myself not to be nervous. When Jennifer called me and told me I got the position, I was so excited! I ran and told all my coworkers and we were all crying we were so happy.
How is your experience as an employee different than your experience as a volunteer?
As a volunteer I moved around a lot. Some days I would help with class, take phone calls, make copies. Now I’m in the front all the time so I am always talking with people and helping them in any way I can. People come in and they are overwhelmed and we help any way we can. I’ve been on both sides, so people feel comfortable around me. They know I won’t judge them.
How did it feel to win Volunteer of the Year?
Well there’s actually a funny story about that day. it was at our Monday morning all staff meeting, so I pulled up to the parking lot and was so excited to see all my coworkers after the weekend. When Cindy Duenas announced my name during the meeting I was so excited! I was so nervous standing up there with Cindy while she read all these nice things that people had said about me. She asked if I had anything to say, but I didn’t say anything because I was so nervous even though I had so much to say! Later I wrote an e-mail out thanking the agency for everything and for helping me with so much. When I went back out to the parking lot, I found that I had been so excited when I saw my coworkers that morning that I had locked my keys in my car and it was still running! I called my husband and he brought me the spare key and that’s when I got to tell him that I won Volunteer of the Year.
What is your favorite thing about working at CHS?
I always wanted a job where I could help people and work with kids. When I was in high school, a counselor told me that there was no way I would one day find a job where I could do all the different things I wanted to do and help people in all the different ways that I wanted to help. I wish I could go back and tell him that at CHS I do it all and every day is something different. That’s what I love about CHS. There is always something different going on. We have all sorts of events and even though I am an employee, I can still volunteer at things. At the Ceres Partnership, I get to help people every day. Everyone who walks through that door is different.
Do you have any advice for someone who is thinking about volunteering?
Even though you are a volunteer, treat it like a job. Come in prepared and ready to work. Volunteering is something you can put on your resume, it’s a great opportunity and you should give it your all. I give this advice because I’ve been there and that advice was helpful to me when I was a volunteer. I love this agency and I’m so glad I got to opportunity to volunteer and now work here.
If you would like to learn more about volunteer opportunities at CHS visit: http://www.centerforhumanservices.org/get-involved/volunteer/
