An Interview With This Month's Star Volunteer, Sarah Zelonka
written by Bianca Bidiuc
Of all the diseases to catch, here’s one that won’t have you reaching for the antibacterial soap: volunteerism. “It’s contagious; you just want to do more!” confirmed our enthusiastic star volunteer Sarah Zelonka. Sarah, a small business owner, hails from the tightly knit community of Mansfield/Storrs, Connecticut. She and her mother own The Health Alternative Market and Deli, a hub for “organic, natural and gluten free foods.” A longtime volunteer in her community, Sarah found out about Roots of Development through a faithful customer, Marian Bissonnette, a passionate volunteer and Advisory Board member of Roots of Development. She jumped at the chance to help, saying, “I really like the ‘teach a man to fish’ philosophy of the organization,” referring to the role of sustainability as a core principle of Roots of Development. Sarah channeled her own contagious energy into preparing for last September's bike-a-thon by donating raffle items, successfully soliciting other companies such as Newman’s Own for donations, writing articles in local papers about the event, and persuading some of her own customers to participate. With help from many wonderful volunteers like Sarah the event was an extremely successful one, surpassing the original fundraising goal by $3000! It even became a family affair, as Sarah convinced her own mother, Heidi, to ride in the bike-a-thon. “It was nice to get the whole community involved. It’s great to be a part of something that changes the world,” she reflects. Sarah’s actions and attitude truly display the spirit of volunteerism, and we joyously thank her for helping to make the bike-a-thon such a successful event!
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