It is rare to meet one or even a handful of people who are so selfless and devoted to helping others hour after hour, day to day, week by week, year after year. I am incredibly honored and blessed to say I get the privilege to work with hundreds of loyal and dedicated career and industry professionals who go above and beyond volunteering countless hours with student after student, classroom by classroom, school to school, and county after county as a member of our Speakers Bureau to optimize the mission of the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education (MBRT).
In my role as director of Career Pathways at MBRT, it’s easy for me or anyone on our team to be on board with the goals and strategic plan of our organization. However, it is a whole next level of dedication that I am completely humbled by thinking of our volunteer members who freely jump on board to serve beside us. Together, we are working to meet the college and career readiness goals of Maryland’s Blueprint for the Future, strategies of the MBRT “My Future. My Maryland.” strategic plan, ever-evolving workforce needs and the overall challenges to student success, including how to train students for jobs that do not even exist but will soon. The MBRT volunteers represent a wide variety of industries, from A to Z, accountant to zoologist, but what they don’t realize is that they all are working in education every time they step foot into a classroom.
How to volunteer with the MBRT Speakers Bureau? It is as easy as 1, 2, 3…
- Create a “VOLUNTEER” account on www.mbrt.org
- Complete an online background check (at no cost to you)
- Attend a Speakers Bureau Orientation – Ready, Set, Speak! (virtual/in-person)
What does it truly take to make a real and lasting impact on students? It is not quite as fast as signing up, but worth every step…
You’ll be: logging into MBRT’s Better Impact volunteer management system and signing up for a volunteer session (10 minutes); preparing for your presentation or reviewing materials in advance of a session (1-2 hours); driving or using public transportation to and from the school site (time is up to your choice of volunteering location); and catching up any work missed while you were away from your office. This is a day in the life of a volunteer. Our Speakers Bureau members donate their time before they even show up. A classroom session – typically 35 to 45 minutes – provides the opportunity to inspire and motivate students to consider a career pathway, make real-life connections with what they’ve learned, emphasize vital skills, and identify opportunities to help students learn how to be successful in school, college, career and life.
My role is to encourage and recruit more people to not only join but volunteer with the MBRT Speakers Bureau as the need is great, and every student deserves the opportunity to hear directly from those in the careers they are interested in. The MBRT is currently recruiting to fill volunteer opportunities from Western Maryland (Washington County) to the Eastern Shore (Kent County) and in between (Harford and Baltimore Counties and Baltimore City. I can assure you that you get far more out of the experience of volunteering to help students than you ever give away in time. “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill.
Here are just a few benefits to becoming an MBRT Speakers Bureau volunteer:
- “It takes a village!” – Teachers, counselors, and career coaches need our Speakers Bureau and YOU to bring curriculum to life and makes connections to careers.
- “You are the expert on You!” – One of the best ways to learn and grow is by teaching or sharing your knowledge and expertise on a given subject, such as your career and education journey.
- “What would you tell your younger self?” – Helping students gives you a sense of accomplishment, self-worth and achievement, and is an important way to give back while paying it forward for the future of your community and Maryland.
To our volunteers: We sincerely cannot THANK YOU enough for the time, travel, energy and investment you give this worthy cause, and numbers only tell part of the story. I hope you know the PRICELESS IMPACT you have on so many lives.
If you are inspired to join the MBRT Speakers Bureau or wish to learn more, visit www.mbrt.org and click on “VOLUNTEER” or email me, Carrie Pannone, at info@mbrt.org.
