Cheryl Halpern won the 2024 Everyday Hero award, presented at a ceremony in New York City on July 16, 2024. The Everyday Hero award recognizes the work a researcher does both in and outside of their community.
Halpern has been volunteering for over 25 years at every level, including holding positions like president of the board of directors, advisory council member, and treasurer at various organizations. Her skills as a market researcher, strategic consultant, and product manager have prepared her to be an effective and empathetic servant leader.
Her work with the Dallas chapter of Buddy Up for Life, which she founded five years ago, has been her focus. Buddy Up Tennis is a national nonprofit that offers weekly high-energy adaptive tennis for adults and children with Down syndrome.
The Dallas chapter is the largest Buddy Up Tennis chapter in the United States and has received various accolades like “Best of Texas Tennis” for adaptive programming from United States Tennis Association two years in a row.
Halpern shared a bit about her lifelong commitment to volunteering and starting the Dallas chapter of Buddy Up for Life.
What led you to the volunteer work that you do?
My parents modeled community service for me as a child, so volunteerism has always been an integral part of my life. When I transitioned from my corporate role to consulting in 1998, my schedule became more flexible, and I was able to start volunteering regularly. Since that time, I’ve had the privilege of building homes for Habitat for Humanity, tackling several PTA leadership positions, being a volunteer tutor with Reading Partners, acting as a WishMaker for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, providing support and leadership to the Board of Directors of Jewish Family Service of Greater Dallas, and serving in a variety of other meaningful roles.
In the fall of 2018, I saw an NBC Nightly News story featuring a national nonprofit organization that conducted tennis clinics for individuals with Down syndrome. I was eager to volunteer to combine volunteering with my lifelong passion for tennis. I played competitively through high school, taught at summer tennis camps during college, won a dozen intramural titles at The University of Texas, and returned to competitive league play after a 12-year hiatus.
I visited the Buddy Up for Life website and quickly determined there was not a chapter in the Dallas-Fort Worth area … so I started one! Over five years – and COVID-19 – later, we are the largest chapter in the country and conduct tennis and fitness clinics 28 weeks out of each year, serving over 130 athletes and giving purpose to over 600 Buddies!
What is your favorite part about volunteering?
For me, it is all about human connections and relationships! While I thoroughly enjoyed my board roles for various nonprofit organizations, these positions typically involved governance and operational oversight.
I now cherish the hands-on, boots-on-the-ground delivery of the services to those in need. As the Coordinator and Founder of Buddy Up for Life in Dallas, I have gotten to know and love our athletes with Down syndrome and their incredible families. Our athletes’ hugs are the absolute BEST!
I’ve seen friends and teammates who are fierce, accomplished competitors on the tennis court demonstrate awe-inspiring compassion, patience, and enthusiasm for athletes who are overjoyed to simply hit a foam ball over the net a couple of times.
Seeing the positive impact of volunteerism on both those volunteering and those being served is incredibly rewarding!
Do you have any advice for people who want to make an impact in their own communities?
Keep your eyes and ears open for appealing volunteer opportunities that are publicized in your area, recognizing that nonprofits depend on volunteers to help stretch their staff and budgets.
You can also take the initiative in identifying opportunities by asking yourself a series of questions:
What causes, children, seniors, animals, education, etc., speak to your heart?
What organizations in your area address those needs?
What sorts of tasks do you enjoy doing on a volunteer basis? Think physical labor like stocking a food pantry or walking dogs at an animal shelter, planning a fundraiser, greeting the public at a health fair, working one-on-one with a child, performing administrative tasks, or something else. Then ask which organizations need that type of help?
Do you want a regular schedule, ad hoc opportunities, or work you can do on your own schedule?
If the volunteer opportunity requires you to be at a certain location, is it relatively convenient?
After volunteering a time or two, how does it make you feel?
When you can align your passions, your availability, and your talents, you will have found a volunteer role that is sustainable and potentially life-changing!
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