Some say 14 is too young to know what love is, but when Ronda Senior first volunteered as a teen at a local hospital in Illinois, she knew that volunteering was what she loved to do. Now, at 61 years old, she still hasn’t stopped.
From Illinois to New Jersey to the Lehigh Valley, Senior has kept her love for volunteering alive despite the limited amount of free time in her life. While working a corporate job, she found a way to help her daughter and other children by volunteering as a Girl Scout leader and being involved in the PTA for nine years. She also volunteered at the Newton, New Jersey Junior Athletic League for ten years as the director, board member and fundraising director of their cheerleading program.
After retiring from the corporate world and moving to Pennsylvania, and after her daughter had grown up, Senior initially had difficulty finding her niche. She soon found volunteer work with the Center for Animal Health and Welfare in Easton as a dog walker and kennel assistant. Her responsibilities grew as she became the shelter’s volunteer coordinator, board member, front-desk manager and dog foster parent. Her most rewarding experiences involve tail wags and happily-ever-afters for shelter dogs.
At the same time, Senior became involved with ArtsQuest. It only took one visit to the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas for her to realize that it was where she wanted to spend her time. Her first volunteer experience was at Christkindlmarkt as a ticket seller, retail assistant and customer service representative. She has worked every ArtsQuest event, but her favorite is Musikfest, where she works all ten days from open to close. Senior also serves as an ambassador for ArtsQuest, a member of the volunteer committee and house manager. She has worked as site supervisor, usher, beer pourer, golf-outing assistant, ticket taker and more.
If there is a job at ArtsQuest, one can bet Ronda Senior has done that job before.
