Volunteers Show Out at Rev. Cecil Williams’ Celebration of Life
Honoring Rev. Cecil Williams Legacy
On May 12th, we honored the legacy of GLIDE’s late co-founder Rev. Williams with a HUGE celebration of life. A portion of this newsletter will focus on the behind-the-scenes volunteer coordination of such an important celebration.
- You can find more information honoring Rev. Cecil Williams’ legacy at glide.org/celebratececil.
- To learn more about volunteering at GLIDE, please visit glide.org/volunteer/.
Volunteers Keep Celebration On Track
Honoring the labor of love which was Rev. Williams’ Celebration of Life
By Tessa Stapp, Volunteer Coordinator
On Sunday May 12th, thousands gathered to celebrate the legacy of Rev. Cecil Williams, and I want to take the time to appreciate everyone that made such a gorgeous moment possible.
In the two weeks leading up to the grand ceremony, the Volunteer Office fielded email, voicemail, and in person offerings from generous community members that wished to support Rev. Cecil’s homegoing ceremony. By Sunday, we had a core group of 30 volunteers to spread GLIDE’s gospel of love in the church and out into the streets.
Behind the scenes:
Volunteer Team staff was onsite by 9:30am to support set-up, and we each had a priority role crucial in maintaining a volunteer staffing rhythm.
Tessa (Volunteer Orientation): It was my role to field incoming volunteers, check them in for their shift, and pass them off to Waverlee.
Waverlee (Coat Check + Liaison): Waverlee kept everyone’s personal effects safe AND pointed them in the direction of the role they held.
Khaboshi (Volunteer Point Person): Khaboshi was floating throughout the ceremony to ensure that all volunteers felt supported and could spot her if an attendee had a question they couldn’t answer.
We immediately put volunteers to WORK, having them set up tablecloths and chairs for the outside portion of celebration. The next shift of volunteers supported with checking-in guests, providing pamphlets, and guiding attendees to their seats.
As GLIDE’s volunteer ushers engaged guests inside the sanctuary, our Meals Volunteers began preparations for the post-celebration meal. After the service, our team of people provided an assortment of southern barbeque that our Meals Team prepared with love. During the outdoor meal, we had an open speaking portion where community members could share their memories of Rev. Williams. I would also like to take a moment to shout out a regular GLIDE volunteer Evelynne, she graced us with a song tribute to Rev. Williams during the reception.
Staff Shout-Outs
While many people were in attendance for Rev. Williams’ Celebration of Life, I am specifically grateful for the hard work performed by Andrea, Mike, and others who were essential in keeping our program running smoothly. I am additionally grateful for the care each staff member put into making the event a true honoring of Rev. Cecil Williams.
Thank You Again!
Thank you for reading this month’s newsletter! It’s engaged volunteers like YOU who make all the difference at GLIDE.
If you would like to donate books to our GLibrary initiative, we appreciate books in new or gently used condition across all genres. If you have any questions or would like to coordinate dropping off books, please contact our GLibrarian, Waverlee Craig, at: Wcraig@glide.org
You may contact me at Tstapp@glide.org; if you have a story suggestion, please put Volunteer Newsletter Story in the subject line and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
CALL FOR YOUTH VOLUNTEERS: If you would like to schedule to bring a class or youth to GLIDE, send us an email at VOLTEAM@GLIDE.ORG and we can coordinate all the logistics to provide them with a 🌟transformative experience🌟.
Volunteering introduces students to issues prevalent in our community, and at the same time reminds them of their own power to create change, empowers youth by giving them important tasks to manage, and reminds our youth to build the world they want to live in.
This edition of Be The Change is our second edition dedicated to GLIDE Foundation’s Co-Founder Reverend Cecil Williams. Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani were glowing examples of our Volunteer Departments motto of “Be The Change”, and we are honored to uplift and celebrate their legacies through our programs.
