Page 32 - Leisure Living Magazine Holiday 2016

Leisure Living Honors
A Few Volunteers Who Give Back To Our Community
“I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing that I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.”
- William Penn
Each year it is the tradition of Leisure Living Magazine to honor volunteers whose efforts make someone else’s life easier or better because of their own sacrifices of time and effort. There is a common thread that ties the annual honorees of the Leisure Living Magazine “Giving Back” feature and that thread is the recipients’ attitude of modesty and their desire to shine the light away from themselves. This year’s group is no exception.
~ Barb Clemons, Editor
Two Are Better Than One!
Chris Zess and
Mary Ann Lenhart
By Elizabeth Roth
Though retired now from their respec-
tive full time careers, Mary Ann and Chris
began volunteering well before their offi-
cial “leisure” chapters of life began. Longtime friends who raised their
families in Sandusky, Chris Zess and
Mary Ann Lenhart love to volunteer
as much as they enjoy their time
together as friends. In fact, if you
spot one of them at any of the many
venues where they have volunteered
their skills, you will most likely rec-
ognize the other. They have fun
working together on projects and
they enjoy helping others. Early on, at
Mary Ann’s suggestion, the pair began volunteering at Sandusky State Theatre,
then at the Erie County Senior Citizens
Center. They now teach classes in computer
at ECSC several days a week. Their students learn to use the keyboard, the mouse, Face Book, Skype and many other functions. Some learn to use email and accomplish all sorts of things they may have never dreamed they could do.
32 |LeisureLiving Holiday 2016
Chris and Mary Ann have complementary skills. Both are facile with computer technology. Mary Ann is especially savvy with the mechanics of the technology. She is a problem-solver and if an operation is not functioning correctly, Mary Ann will tinker with it until she finds a solution. Chris is blessed with natural teaching ability, patience, and grant-writing expertise. Chris and Mary Ann together seek grants that will provide adults with the computer equipment that is need- ed for classes and for individual use. Chris espe- cially likes it when her instruction helps an adult student light up with understanding. Together, these volunteers know how to make using com- puters fun and less challenging for others. Their students often have the new world of technology unlocked for them by Mary Ann and Chris.
When asked to give examples of moments that have been especially rewarding as volun- teers, Chris relates several “moments” that she
treasures. One was the time a lady who had been missing her brother who lived in Pennsylvania shared with the Chris how, with Skype, brother and sis- ter have break- fast together each morning (as Chris tells this story her
become moist with joy). In a sec- ond instance, a woman who was an actress learned to audition online, opening up a new world of acting oppor-
tunities.
Mary Anne Lenhart, left, and Chris Zess, right, in the popcorn wagon where they were volunteering.
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