204. Building Community Together - Online & During a Pandemic

Cedars has been supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities since 1919. They work together with the people they serve — as individuals deserving of respect, personal choice, and the chance to develop interests, skills, and independence.​

They’re residential and day programs are known for creating a life-affirming, loving environment in which personal accomplishments are celebrated, individual skills are recognized and participants are able to live creative, productive, and joyous lives.

But Cedars has been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic and a particularly devastating wildfire season in northern California. When the pandemic hit, the agency doubled down on their focused process to operationalize the organization’s values and considered how they would be reflected in their response to COVID-19. Their motto for weathering the crisis became “We show up.”

However, to keep their residents safe they have had to cancel all in-person volunteer opportunities and events. In response, they created a curated private Facebook channel to keep everyone -- residents, volunteers, staff, and donors -- up to date on developments.  It has become much more than a way to communicate; it has become a way to continue services and connections through Zoom classes and individual chats.

After the interview, Cheryl reported back that with their fall bowling fundraiser, usually done in person but converted to a virtual event, they achieved 147% of their revenue goal, making this pivot a successful one.

Because of their success with technology, they are also planning to move forward with an online store, to complement their brick and mortar gallery, where they will sell resident artwork.  

For more information on Cedars and their innovative programming, visit https://www.cedarslife.org/.You can find Cheryl on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheryl-white-4113673a/.

Guest Bio:

Cheryl White
Associate Executive Director
Cedars

Cheryl White is a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist who has worked in the field of developmental services for over 20 years. As a case manager and later a program director, Cheryl began her work in the field at Tierra del Sol – a day program for adults with intellectual disabilities in Southern California. 

After returning to her home in the Bay Area, Cheryl worked with the resource development team at Golden Gate Regional Center for nine years. Her focus at the regional center was on projects related to the development of services for individuals leaving state developmental centers, as well as projects to meet the needs of children and adults living in Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties. 

Currently, Cheryl is Associate Executive Director at Cedars, which provides residential and day programs for adults in Marin County, Cheryl has also worked as a clinician in private practice and a regional director of a national non-profit serving Job Corps youth.

For More:

For more info on how organizations manage virtual volunteer engagement, check out Season 1 of the Time + Talent podcast, Episode 107: Digital Team Building with Remote Volunteers.