Cape Cod Volunteers is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to link people with meaningful opportunities for volunteering on Cape Cod. We do this by informing Cape Codders—residents and visitors alike—about the many opportunities, programs, and agencies that exist in our community, and by helping people identify their own interests, skills, talents, and passion for service to the community. Our vision is to create a network of organizations and opportunities that will inform, inspire, and engage people of all ages and backgrounds in strengthening our community through volunteering.
Cape Cod Volunteers began as an initiative of the Cape Cod Foundation in partnership with CapeCodOnline.com and Barnstable County. While at the Foundation, Cape Cod Volunteers was guided by an Advisory Committee of thirteen community members and nonprofit representatives, and chaired by Brian O’Connell, Co-Founder of Independent Sector. The initiative began in 2006 with a community assessment involving over 200 community members and nonprofit representatives. The assessment found that although Cape Codders are generally involved in their communities, there are barriers to volunteering, such as knowing where the opportunities are and finding the right one. These barriers can be especially challenging for older adults who may have recently retired and/or those who have moved to Cape Cod from other communities. In November 2010, to address the identified barriers and the significant potential of volunteerism, Cape Cod Volunteers transitioned into an independent nonprofit organization.
Cape Cod Volunteers is based on the philosophy that everyone has skills, experience, and talents they can contribute to building a stronger community, and that volunteering presents many opportunities to enrich one’s life. Cape Cod Volunteers’ work is based on the following values:
- Tap into the skills, talents, passion, and experience of all residents and visitors so that they can contribute in meaningful ways to strengthen our community.
- Help improve the capacity of nonprofit organizations and municipalities to effectively engage volunteers in community service.
- Create an efficient and sustainable model for community involvement.
- Promote volunteering on Cape Cod as a crucial activity for all people and for the health of our community
- Provide accessible and user-friendly methods for all residents and visitors on Cape Cod to find meaningful opportunities for community service.
Board of Directors
Volunteer Consultants
Volunteer Leadership Network
Staff
Thank you to the folks below who have taken the time to share their stories with us! We are always grateful to get feedback on how we’re doing so whether it’s positive or negative, please help us improve our services – share your story with us today.
Volunteers
“I started volunteering for Plan It Network this summer after seeing the opportunity listed on the Cape Cod Volunteers website, and became part of their creative arts group that met weekly over the summer.
The group incorporated acting, singing, making music, and dancing. We all worked together rehearsing a scene from Romeo and Juliet, learned how to play hand drums, and practiced a rap song written to highlight the abilities of the members and their desire for respect and acceptance. Everyone involved had a great time!
Plan It Network provides fun social activities for adults with developmental challenges that enrich the lives of the members in so many ways. I feel lucky to have found such a rewarding volunteer opportunity and I will continue to be a part of it. I encourage anyone who thinks they might enjoy working with this wonderful group of people to check it out. We are always looking for more volunteers!” -Laurie, Plan It Network Volunteer
Nonprofit Organizations
“We’ve received all types of help from Cape Cod Volunteers. It all depends on what you ask for! From a mother and son team who baked pies together for our Pre-Thanksgiving Pie Auction Fundraiser to an empty nester assisting with childcare for our Effective Parenting Series: we’ve always been thrilled with Cape Cod Volunteers and their generosity.” -Tina Toran, Coalition for Children
“Getting a summer volunteer through the CCV website was a win-win experience for us and for the college volunteer. She’s a senior in public health and her family has lived on the Cape for many summers. Through her unique hands-on experience she learned about the real human needs of many of our year-round residents, and we got a volunteer who’s already passionate about our mission!”-B.L. Hathaway, Oral Health Excellence Collaborative (OHEC)
Brooks Thayer, a Cape Cod native and Chairman of the Cape Cod Volunteers Board, is thrilled to see an organization that brings together nonprofits and volunteers come to the Cape. Brooks has always believed in the value of volunteering, especially given the Cape’s unique situation. (About 25% of the population is older than 65, and we are served by more than a thousand nonprofit organizations). In fact, he currently volunteers at the Orleans Council on Aging. He has also been an active member of the Orleans Fire Department and Rescue Squad for more than 30 years. Brooks is a lawyer by trade, and is a member of the Massachusetts, Boston, and Barnstable County Bar Associations. In his spare time, Brooks enjoys fishing. Prior affiliations include Cape Cod Foundation, Joshua Nickerson Society, and Cape Cod Museum of Natural History.
Born and raised in Massachusetts, Jim is currently serving as the Director of the Mashpee Council on Aging/Mashpee Senior Center. Jim is a graduate of Malden Catholic High School with a BA from Boston University and an MBA in Health and Hospital Administration from the University of Florida, and he has held various administrative positions in health care in Florida, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Jim has volunteered on various local Boards including The Boys and Girls Club of Cape Cod, Barnstable County Health and Human Services Advisory Council, Neighborhood Support Coalition, Southeast Regional Councils on Aging, Elder Services of Cape Cod & the Islands, and Cape Cod Consortium for At Risk Older Adults.
Richard Brothers (Rich) grew up in Roxbury, MA, and is a “Summer Kid Washashore,” (so-named for the childhood summers he spent on the Cape). Rich considers himself very fortunate to have learned about the wonders of Cape Cod and the Islands from the young age of 11. Rich and his wife Ellen bought their first Cape Cod home in 1983 – a weekend haven from Boston, where they both worked for Blue Cross and Blue Shield for more than 20 years. Rich then took a position representing all of the United Ways in New England in large, multi-site companies for 14 years before taking his current position as President of The Cape And Islands United Way in 1998. Rich’s favorite volunteer job is playing Santa Claus each season at A Baby Center and at CapeAbilities. In his opinion, volunteering is vital. It fulfills a community need while providing an even greater reward to the volunteer – that is, the knowledge that they have added value to this wonderful community. Rich is very proud to have been asked to be on the inaugural Board of Directors of this very exciting venture, Cape Cod Volunteers.
Prior to finding some sand between her toes, Sue Daggett was serving as the director of a Professional Development School Teaching Center that linked a large, suburban school district with Syracuse University. The job simultaneously presented her with the practical challenges of public school education and the support of a strong teaching and learning research center. Sharing resources between the two programs gave Sue a sense of how enriching meaningful partnerships can be. When Sue came to the Cape to write her dissertation at a friend’s summer home in Harwich, it didn’t take long for her to be drawn into the community – her new goal became finding a way to stay on Cape! Sue has volunteered all her life. Her parents reached out to help neighbors and others in need at the local level and it was something Sue and her two siblings took up naturally. She believes that there are times in a person’s life when time is their greatest asset and strongest resource; and she has long recognized the adage that in giving, you get so much more back. Most recently, Sue worked for a nonprofit, where she was surrounded by volunteers. She valued the time that she volunteered along side them, building relationships and gaining greater insights into the rewards and challenges of volunteering. Sue believes volunteering is important because it is something everyone can and (might she add) should do!
Mary LeClair, who has just completed a two-year term working as a Constituent Service Representative for Congressman William Delahunt, has had a career in politics as County Commissioner and County Treasurer in Barnstable County. Her first venture on Cape Cod in the early sixties was in banking where she managed a small branch in Mashpee. Volunteering is second nature to her as she has served on several boards including Gosnold as chairman and the Sons of Italy as president. Mary has her home in Mashpee where she lives with her daughter and two Grandsons. She also has a daughter, granddaughter and great grandson in Denver.



Michael Karchmer moved to the Lower Cape four years ago following a 30-year career as a researcher, professor, and academic administrator at Gallaudet University, the liberal arts university for Deaf students in Washington, DC. In addition to working with Cape Cod Volunteers, he is an officer of Nauset Newcomers, and serves on the Board of the Cape Cod Viewfinders Camera Club. He is an enthusiast photographer, specializing in people and places on the Cape. In addition, Dr. Karchmer is working with other researchers on projects about the early colonial settlement of the Cape. He and his wife Susan live in Harwich.
Susan “Suz” Karchmer moved to the Cape to retire with her husband, Michael Karchmer, after working for 25 years as a sign language interpreter in the Washington, DC Metro Area. Suz interpreted for performing arts venues like the Kennedy Center, became director of various continuing education programs at Gallaudet University, and started her own floral design business. While Suz was happy to move to the Cape, she looks back on her work with great fondness, and wanted to find new meaningful ways to connect using her skills. Through a neighbor, Suz discovered volunteer work at WE CAN that brought new purpose to her life. She has found that volunteers are part of what makes WE CAN strong and vibrant in its response to the needs of women across the Cape. Suz’s experience, in part, is what motivates her to work with Cape Cod Volunteers – she considers herself lucky to have found meaningful work on her first try. Now Cape Cod Volunteers opens the door to compelling, meaningful Cape Connections for other newly-arrived retirees.
Orleans resident Mary Ryan moved to Cape Cod to retire with her husband Win in April 2010. To get involved in her new community before becoming a full-time resident, Mary started volunteering. She has been at it since 2008, participating in (and now overseeing) the Cape and Islands United Way Community Investment Committee process, which is responsible for ensuring that United Way funds are distributed appropriately to nonprofits on Cape Cod. In her previous life (i.e., pre-retirement), Mary managed large-scale technology development projects in multiple industries. She spent the last ten years of her career as a Senior Vice President within the technology division of State Street Bank, responsible for setting strategic direction for technology development. In her spare time, Mary loves going to the beach, kayaking, reading, and hanging out with her grandchildren.
Lisa McNeill was formerly Vice President of the Cape Cod Foundation, and in that role she participated in a national initiative, Community Experience Partnership, which helped to establish Cape Cod Volunteers as a new organization in November 2010. She continues to enjoy working with the volunteers that helped to create CCV and new volunteers that are adding their energy to the work!