Occupation: Monica likes to volunteer. “I do various volunteer jobs. I work with Filmworks, the Warnors Theatre and the revitalization of downtown.”
What kinds of things do you do for the downtown revitalization work?
“I’ve only been to one of their events so far. It was a meeting right across the street from the Warnors Theatre – the building was beautiful. I served beer while they were discussed the changes they wanted to make. I pretty much just want to help out in whatever way I can and still watch what’s going on and know what’s going on in the community.”
What do you like about volunteering?
“I like to volunteer because the class of people you meet amongst volunteers. They’re really a neat class of people that are very giving. There are certain qualities that a volunteer has that nobody in the workforce has. They like giving and they like helping out.”
Do you have any hobbies?
“Lots of them. I like to play guitar, I like to write poems, I like cruising the Internet and meeting new people. I like rollerblading. I love to read. I love to write and design logos.”
What kind of writing do you do?
“I write a lot of letters. Hardly anybody hand-writes letters anymore.”
How long have you been volunteering for Filmworks and how did you get involved?
“It has been almost two years. I think I probably went to the website and found the name of the volunteer coordinator and just emailed her.”
Did you know about Filmworks before you started volunteering?
“No, I really didn’t. I’m not a huge movie buff for independent films, but I really enjoyed Swede Fest [which Filmworks sponsors]. I loved that event. People make their own low-budget films that are kind of parodies of popular films or TV shows. That would be so fun to do with some friends.”
What do you like most about volunteering with Filmworks?
“The people. Everybody there is really nice, really friendly. When you’re a volunteer and you meet the other volunteers, they’re just really upbeat people. I need to sometimes make myself get out of the house and do something, so that’s what I thought would be a good outlet.”
What has been your most memorable experience while volunteering in the community?
“It was the Joe Bonamassa concert at the Warnors Theatre. My friend and I took tickets for the theater, and then we got to watch the show and it was so awesome!”
Filmworks thanks all of our August 2014 volunteers: Jackie Aldern, Dominic Bedrossian, Leslie Bjerke, Lorna Bonyhadi, Celeste DeMonte, Christopher Dodd, Antonio Garcia, Rebecca Horwitz (intern), Neal Howard, Joan Levie, Monica Marks-Rea, Sara Poss, Jesus Reyes, Gene Richards, Richard Stone, Lorraine Tomerlin.
Past volunteers in the spotlight: July 2014: Julie Linwixler • June 2014: Lorna Bonyhadi • May 2014: Celeste DeMonte and Neal Howard • April 2014: Andrew Ranta • March 2014: Lorraine Tomerlin • February 2014: Antonio Garcia • January 2014: Fae Giffen • December 2013: Cleo Bauer and Dominic Papagni • November 2013: Kathryn and Carl Johnsen • October 2013: Linda Hernandez • September 2013: Susan Rogers • August 2013: Joan and Brijesh Sharma • July 2013: Jon Veinberg • June 2013: Richard Stone • May 2013: Sarah Nixon • April 2013: Alyssa Rendon • March 2013: Nené Casares
Contact our volunteer coordinator, Gloria Burrola, to volunteer at a future screening.