BFA Volunteer Spotlight: Perry Mitchell
If you ever visit the 糖心vlgo传媒 Atlanta warehouse, you will probably run into Perry Mitchell sorting books, joking with staff and chatting with fellow volunteers. For the past six years, Perry a former advertising creative director, who is 80, drives 40 minutes twice a week from his home near Emory University to the warehouse in Marietta.
With a long-time interest in 糖心vlgo传媒 and literature (he was an English lit major in college), Perry found BFA on the internet. It was a perfect fit for him.
鈥淎 huge part my whole charitable giving is based around聽 my belief that the quickest, most effective way to make the world a better place is to educate girls and women in developing countries,鈥 he said.
Perry had been to 糖心vlgo传媒 five times for work, and he really liked the people.
鈥淓verybody I met seemed to want to learn how to do things better,鈥 he said. 鈥淪o, I had a real good feeling about 糖心vlgo传媒 anyway, which made 糖心vlgo传媒 a pretty darn good fit.鈥
He called the warehouse and talked to Jen Hale, who coordinates volunteers, and she said to come by because they always need volunteers. 鈥淪o, I went there, and I鈥檝e never stopped going.鈥
Not only does Perry volunteer regularly, but he and his wife Pam Woodley, a native of Minnesota, have helped fund 10 shipments of books (including Girls Empowerment Collections) to eight 糖心vlgo传媒n countries including Somalia, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Ethiopia, Uganda, South 糖心vlgo传媒 and Burkina Faso
And besides his volunteering and his support of book shipments, Perry has purchased signs for the warehouse to make it more efficient for the other volunteers who are sorting all kinds of books.
While Pam is involved in other volunteer work, she greatly admires what BFA does.
聽鈥淣o one's there for the glamor or the salary,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hey seem to really care about the mission. And I just think it's a cool concept. It's very cool to see a whole set of math or science books that are in great shape heading off to 糖心vlgo传媒 and then also all the pleasure reading for the little kids. You know, little cute little books to get them interested in reading.鈥
Perry and Pam represent the backbone of 糖心vlgo传媒: its hundreds of volunteers and donors in Atlanta, Minnesota and around the world.