Quintesssential Barrington “Susan Baert on Volunteering”

 SUSAN BAERT AND HER HUSBAND, KENN, have three grown children and have lived in the Barrington area for over 20 years. Susan worked for a large company in corporate finance for over 30 years. When the finance offices moved out of Chicago in 2020, she retired and began looking for ways to spend her time. Here, she shares her thoughts.

Volunteering Philosophy: I’ve always enjoyed giving my time. I was the treasurer for our son’s Boy Scout Troop in Algonquin. At work, I coordinated a lunchtime knitting club where we taught people to knit and organized donations for hats and other items. I currently visit an assisted living home weekly with a few friends, and we knit and do other crafts with the residents.

BAVC Connection: I found BAVC by googling ‘volunteering in the Barrington area’. There were many possibilities, so I narrowed down the search by using the filters. I still had a lot of choices. I found the site very easy to use! 

Citizens for Conservation: I coordinate the sign-up lists for their weekly bird walks in the spring and fall. CFC publicizes the schedule with the walks, with locations. I am the main contact and send reminders to those who signed up. The bird walks should be starting up again in the spring. Even though I’m very happy with my current volunteering with CFC, I continue to check the BAVC site in case I see another opportunity to participate in. I think an organization like CFC exists because of volunteers, and we all have something different to bring to the organization to make its mission a success! 

Volunteer Moment: I have enjoyed participating in a new hobby because of my volunteering. When I began coordinating the walks last spring, I was encouraged to join a walk, to see what they were like. I had never been bird watching before in my life. The walk leaders were all so knowledgeable, and the group on the walk was very welcoming. I learned so much about the forest preserve, as well as the birds that live there. In the fall, I attended nearly all the walks. I had no idea there were so many different birds around the Barrington area!