Volunteer Kitchen Manager Trish Tuttle was born in Mesa, and has lived her entire life in the East Valley. She graduated from ASU with a BS in Computer Science and currently works for SRP, which is how she was introduced to Singleton Moms.
Trish is married with two adult children, and her extended family are her life. Despite her technical education she loves to be creative. Creatively brings a sense of balance to her life. Trish enjoys celebrating milestones with her family and creatively comes up with great ideas for parties, cakes, etc. She can’t wait to figure out what to do for her daughter when she graduates from NAU!
Outside of volunteering with Singleton Moms, Trish has a lot going on and loves learning new things while contributing positively to her community. We asked her a few questions about herself and her experience with Singleton Moms to learn more:
What brought you to Singleton Moms?
To be perfectly honest, I just wanted to see what it was like to run one of the meal preparation businesses. An opportunity came across my employers volunteer website to assemble meals for Singleton Moms. I’m a little embarrassed to admit, but I didn’t even realize it was for moms fighting cancer. Once I was there, Jody explained the background of the organization and I was so touched by her experience that I scoured the website afterwards. I saw that they were looking for a Kitchen Manager. I didn’t know exactly what it involved, but I thought I might be a match because of my love of cooking. My kids were entering college, so I had some extra time and I wanted to make it productive. I’m so happy I contacted SM about the opportunity.
What are you most excited about with Singleton Moms?
I’m excited about the vision Jody and the Singleton Moms Board have for increasing the nutritional support the parents receive. I’m a big believer in nutrition as the cause and cure for many of the health challenges we face in 2014, including cancer. I want to continue to help bring healthy meals to the parents, as well as promote the notion that the time preparing and enjoying a meal together as a family is time well spent – sick or not.
What keeps you volunteering with Singleton Moms?
One of the things that I love about Singleton Moms is that there are so many ways to get involved, and each volunteer’s abilities and passions are respected. I’m able to apply my own passions (food and family) to my volunteer efforts, and spend whatever amount of time I have available. There are so many ways to get involved, and each volunteer can choose how they want to participate.
What has been difficult about volunteering with Singleton Moms?
When I leave work at the end of the day, its easy to think about how tired I am, and how nice it’ll be to relax at home. Once a month, though, I have something I’ve already committed to. Instead of vegging out in front of the TV, I head down to meet the rest of the volunteers at the Ahwatukee Kitchen Event. It’s a little like exercising. It doesn’t sound that great before you start, but once you start, it feels great. I get to tell the volunteers what Singleton Moms is all about, and watch them learn the process of assembling meals for the Singleton Moms families. When I get back home after the evening’s work, I’m always so energized and my heart feels full of the love that’s been packed into each an every meal. When the alarm clock goes off the next morning, I’m usually tired (I get up pretty early), but I never regret the way I spent my time the night before.
Do you have any advise or wisdom for potential volunteers?
Attend one of the volunteer orientation events to find out all the opportunities that are available. Look for the ones that sound the most fun, or involve a skill or passion you possess. Pick one and start. If life gets in the way and you need to back off a little, go ahead. Take care of yourself too! When you’re ready, Singleton Moms will be there and ready to welcome you and your talents back. We get to be a part of demonstrating to the parents and kids that receive services from Singleton Moms that community still exists, and it is there to support us when we need it.