by Audra Ellis, Tri-County Community Partner Liaison, MiCAFE
Our organization encourages our staff to volunteer their time whenever possible. We understand how important volunteering really is because without volunteers, ELM simply wouldn’t exist. Some great things about volunteering and being involved with your community are that you often get to experience new and exciting activities while also meeting new people and of course the great feeling of giving back.
Over the last year, Elder Law of Michigan has built a relationship with our fellow non-profit Habitat for Humanity. It all started with a friendly hello which led to a Habitat build, referring clients to their programs, helping with their holiday tree decoration contest, and being filmed in their annual fundraiser video that may get turned into a commercial to advertise their ReStore. By making this connection with Habitat for Humanity, I was able mark two things off my bucket list: assisting with the restoration/repair of a Habitat Home and being part of a video to not only help out Habitat for Humanity, but also to get my fifteen minutes of fame.
The filming was part of our 31 Days of Giving campaign, which occurs the month of December each year. This campaign is one of the reasons I consider my coworkers superstars. Everyone is so busy with their own projects, but at least once a month I pester them to attend community events and volunteer their time. They all have complied with my requests at one time or another. I’m sure sometimes they might just be giving in so I will leave their office, but even if that is the case, they all have huge hearts. You have to when you work at a non profit, well you don’t have to, but it makes the organization better if you have caring staff like ours.
The Habitat for Humanity video stars: Char Brooks, Sheila Robison, David Robison, Becky McAlpine, Kim Hill, and Myself. The video is still in the editing process but as soon as it is available, we will share it on the blog.
If you have an event you would like Elder Law of Michigan to be a part of, please email Audra Ellis at aellis@elderlawofmi.org.
Audra is the MiCAFE Tri-County Community Partner Liaison at Elder Law of Michigan. She has been with Elder Law since February of 2009.
Before coming to Elder Law, Audra worked as a Shift Leader at Alcohol Drug Administrative Monitoring, where she oversaw shift changes and worked closely with clients developing her communication skills.
As a member of the MiCAFE team, Audra works closely with MiCAFE community partners and seniors in the tri-county area. She also partakes in case management and delegates attorney correspondence, working closely with both clients and attorneys to keep daily activities within the organization running smoothly and efficiently. Audra also helps Elder Law give back to the community by building partnerships with local organizations.