February Volunteer of the Month – Danielle Gilbreath
Danielle was nominated by Carmen Love, in addition to being voted on by the PTSA Board of Directors. Here is what Carmen had to say about Danielle.
Per Carmen, “I have nominated Danielle Gilbreath for a variety of reasons. Danielle stepped up and volunteered to be co-social chair with no experience at all with the PTSA or Stillwater, which can be intimidating to some… but she didn’t let that stop her. She joined the team and hit the floor running. She has put in countless hours of prep for each event we do, whether its hand making 30 2-3 ft snowflakes until 3am, or traveling all over Redmond and Woodinville trying to find the right party accessories and things the kids would like, to scouring the internet and Amazon for the perfect decorations and prizes. She has been the best right-hand woman a social chair could ask for! Our events have been so much fun, and exciting and its due to all the help we get from our volunteers but especially the help and tireless effort from Danielle. She never gives up, and she strives to make each event better than the last and you can bet the day before the event she’s up until the wee hours of the morning running through everything and making sure there isn’t any last little touches that could be added. Thank you, Danielle, for putting the kids of Stillwater and their events so high up on your list! Danielle has 3 kids at Stillwater of her own she manages and keeps up with, ranging from Kindergarten up to 5th grade, she substitutes at the school all the time, volunteers in all 3 classrooms and still manages to keep her co-social chair sane! 🙂 I couldn’t think of a more deserving person for Volunteer of the Month!”
Danielle and her husband, Rick, have three children, Hagan age 10, Rhyen (pronounced Ryan) age 8 and Emry age 6.
Danielle has been volunteering at Stillwater for three years and prefers to do anything the teachers or other parents don’t want to do. Per Danielle, “I just don’t mind whatever the task is I’ll do it without hesitation, I just like to be helpful and hang with the kids. I do really love art docent too.” When she isn’t volunteering, she’s likely cleaning, walking the trails with her dog Jaxson and a friend or cooking and baking home made goodies for her kids.
When we asked Danielle why she volunteers, she said, “I want to help unburden the teachers who are overloaded with countless basic tasks but struggle to find the time. I love being in the classes and seeing all the children making connections, developing their sense of self within their peer groups, learning to communicate and self-regulate. I’m always inspired by the children’s creativity and resourcefulness and I feel so fortunate to have the ability and time to witness it, they’re all so amazing. The staff is equally amazing and so appreciative of any and all help. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn the inner workings and schedules of the school which provides me with a greater understating of the how all the days are structured, it’s all very insightful.”
She loves surrounding herself with positive people. People who inspire her to be more helpful, humble and understanding. She loves the feeling that she is a positive and uplifting force or a happy smiling face that lightens someone’s day. Little things go a long way, she wants to push or carry as many the long way as possible.
Thank you, Danielle, for all that you do to support Stillwater and our community!! Congrats on your nomination and win!
If you have a volunteer to nominate, please visit: https://stillwaterptsa.org/volunteer-month-nomination/.
