Ritchie speaks at NEW roundtable
Orrville Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a Networking Empowers Women roundtable on Oct. 13. Katherine Ritchie from Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare, third from right, facilitated a discussion on volunteering amid a busy life.
The Orrville Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a Networking Empowers Women roundtable on Oct. 13. Katherine Ritchie, director of development at Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare, hosted the group of women at the new Marilyn B. and Mark E. Gustafson Center for Supportive Care on the campus of Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare in Wooster.
Finding balance and reward volunteering in your community while juggling a career and busy life was the topic of conversation, which was facilitated by Ritchie.
Ritchie said the key to not getting burnt out is not saying yes to every volunteer opportunity that is presented to you.
“Volunteering is a gift, and you have to develop boundaries,” Ritchie said. “It’s OK to say, ‘Can I observe before I commit?’”
She also said setting and understanding expectations of volunteering is important when trying to balance your busy life.
“I enjoy applying skills I do not use in my daily work through my volunteer commitments,” Ritchie said.
When discussing how to prevent burnout, Ashley Pagniano said, “Taking personality tests has helped me to determine what my strengths and weaknesses are. Learning what type of personality I am and then going steps deeper to determine how my personality molds my decision making has helped me know when I am overextending myself.”
Volunteers are happier, more fulfilled and have lower rates of depression later in life than people who don’t volunteer. Volunteering leads to increased life satisfaction.
“If I didn’t volunteer, my life wouldn’t be as fulfilled,” Ritchie said.
Information about upcoming NEW roundtables can be found at www.orrvillechamber.com.