Open Arms Introduces “40 Years, 40 North Stars” As Part Of 40th Anniversary Celebration
Dennis Louie
Dennis has been a volunteer since 1992, and is one of the organization’s 3 longest active volunteers. Starting out cooking his own recipes for clients in the basement kitchen at First Congregational Church almost 40 years ago, he has volunteered regularly for almost four decades and more than 5000 hours at special events, in the kitchen, and doing special projects for almost every area of the organization.
Marjie Smith
Marjie has been volunteering regularly since 2002 and is one of Open Arms’ 10 volunteers with the most lifetime hours - more than 5,800 hours. Marjie has helped at events, with special projects and is a familiar sight at the reception desk where she has volunteered for decades, serving our clients with dedication.
Sabine and Dudley Barksdale
Sabine received a referral to Open Arms in 2006 by her doctor's office, and although she didn’t become a client, she became a volunteer. She has been active in the kitchen, done laundry, worked in the bakery, done special projects, helped at special events and greeted visitors at the reception desk for 15 years. Sabine and Dudley delivered to clients during COVID and are long time and generous funders.
Heather Goetz
Heather has been volunteering since 2015 and is the #1 volunteer at Open Arms with THE MOST total hours volunteered ever - more than 8300! Heather continues to volunteer several times per week - in BOTH St. Paul and Minneapolis - in the kitchens, operations and in delivery.
Lisa Genis
Lisa has been volunteering since 1998, and is one of the five active volunteers with the most lifetime hours - more than 6000! She is also one of the longest and most consistent donors - she has baked, biked, fundraised, cooked, chopped, packed and delivered as a volunteer for Open Arms. With her husband Steve who started volunteering in 2001, she has been a familiar face for decades in the bakery.
Dottie Johnson
Not only has Dottie’s picture made it into about half of the publications at Open Arms, she has been volunteering since 1995. She delivered to clients every week until 2022, and she made it a family affair, bringing her children and her grandchildren on routes for years. She continues to come in and volunteer on special projects, and is also one of our longest and most consistent donors.
Golden Girls Cathy Borer
The Golden Girls were a fixture every Friday in our kitchens from the 1990’s to the late 2010’s. Cathy started volunteering in 2000 and met the other “girls”, and remained close with Carol, Pat N, Phyllis and Pat M throughout the rest of their lives. Open Arms brought them together, nourished their friendships and became a part of their lives.
Golden Girls Ann Fankhanel
Ann became an honorary Golden Girl as she volunteered on Fridays for years in the kitchen and became close with the rest of the “girls.” Fridays meant a fun kitchen shift, maybe a client delivery route and sometimes lunch and a glass of wine. Ann stayed close with the “girls” through the ends of their lives, she is also a longtime and generous donor.
Tracy and Karen Applebaum
Although they both started volunteering in 1995, Tracy was first. They met at Open Arms, became friends, fell in love and married. The first place their daughter went after she was born was Open Arms. From the church basement to present day, together they have volunteered for more than 4,000 hours and they continue to deliver to clients more than 31 years later.
Phil Willkie
Known as our founder Bill’s best friend, Phil has been volunteering at Open Arms since day one in 1986. He has delivered to clients for almost 4 decades - first driven by the friends he saw dying of AIDS. Phil is one of the longest and most vocal supporters of Open Arms, and has raised money for our clients through bike rides, and every kind of party and special event.
