January “Lunch & Learn” Celebrates Spirit of Community Service

On January 22, 2019, GT sponsored the third in our series of “Lunch & Learn” education programs. Nearly 20 members and guests enjoyed their own brown bag lunches while listening to speaker Amy Yontef-McGrath describe her remarkable year of community service.

Here’s how Amy described her amazing undertaking:

“As I approached my 50th birthday, I wanted to shake things up! Grateful for all that I have in my life, I sought something more. In the year between my 49th and 50th birthdays, I took on 50 service projects with 42 organizations serving needs within my own zip code and all the way to Uganda! “These 50 experiences transformed my life. They changed the meaning of ‘community’ for me. And they made me want to show others how ‘shaking things up’ from time to time can be so good for the soul (and for the world).”

Amy Yontef-McGrath speaks about her "Follow Me to 50" volunteer efforts.

During her year of service, Amy volunteered with local groups such as Aspire Counseling’s Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies program and Stepping Stones Shelter, attended a Democracy Bootcamp to learn political organizing skills, and went on a 50-mile solo walk in California to raise money for six charities. She recorded her experiences in a blog she named “Follow Me to 50” (www.followmetofifty.com) and shared many of her blog entries with GT via a video presentation that augmented her “Lunch & Learn” talk.

Congratulations to Amy for her year-long adventure, a fabulous blog, and a great afternoon for Giving Together.

(Amy Yontef-McGrath is a mother of three, an attorney and a former small business owner. She’s also the daughter of Jeanne Spivak, GT Board Member and Chair of GT’s Community Service Committee).