Darrel M., an Admin Processing Support Advisor for TDS, volunteers with multiple Dane County non-profit organizations. His willingness to give so much of his time to help others earned him Volunteer of the Quarter honors for the first quarter of 2014.
Darrel is a Meals on Wheels volunteer, delivering meals to the homebound at least monthly. Darrel also volunteers with Wisconsin Public Television, helping to man the phone bank at their annual auction. He helps at the TDS Open Charity Golf event, is a Safety Leader at TDS, and volunteers with Junior Achievement, Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin, and the Henry Vilas Zoo Halloween event.
Since moving to Madison and joining TDS in 2002 Darrel says, “My volunteer experiences have reinforced my impression of a community that fosters an atmosphere of responsible citizenship, service, and good deeds to others.”
Darrel says he feels both honored and fortunate to represent two important groups:
1) TDS, which has shown generosity in allowing employees to volunteer
2) The organizations employees and the company assist, who are striving to provide important services to the community.
“It’s my aim to provide ‘people-pleasing’ work not only in my volunteer efforts but in my everyday work at TDS,” stated Darrel. “I believe that, say, a homebound person happily receiving their Meals on Wheels package is equal to a TDS customer satisfied in receiving their billing statement, in that our efforts leave both of them with a positive, lasting impression.”
He feels strongly that volunteering has helped him become a well-rounded person who can step out of his comfort zone and do things that are challenging and stimulating, yet fun and worthwhile. According to Darrel, a volunteer’s sense of fulfillment and satisfaction in helping the community is not complete without knowing there’s a happy recipient on the other end benefiting from their efforts.
The proud uncle of four nieces, Darrel tries to instill in them the importance of providing good deeds to others. He says he would love to volunteer alongside them. Even though they don’t live in Madison, Darrel is already rubbing off on them. When one of his nieces was seven, she read about Locks of Love and told her mom, “I want to do this.”
“Sure enough, a few weeks later, my niece got her hair cut and donated it to Locks of Love,” Darrel said. “A picture of her holding her donated ponytail was featured in the local newspaper. Her little sister went to the beauty shop and made her own donation some time later!”
Congratulations Darrel! Thank you for all you do to make a difference.
