Press Release

Contact:	Arlene Klemow	FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
	908/301-1820	July 1, 2008

Rahway Woman’s Career Dream Realized Through Volunteer Experience

Rahway — She was only twelve years old when she first dreamed of becoming a psychologist and helping others. Then, as it does to so many of us, life happened. She took a job immediately out of high school and launched a business career in the consumer products industry that would span more than two decades. It wasn’t until Mary Kelly of Rahway started volunteering to answer calls at CONTACT We Care, the 24-hour caring & crisis hotline based in Westfield, that she was able to revisit her old dream and discover the path to make it come true.

Now, ten years after taking her first call as a CONTACT Listener, 52 year-old Kelly is nearing the completion of her Ph.D. in counseling psychology at Seton Hall University and says she couldn’t be happier with her career change.

“Once I began answering calls to CONTACT’s Caring & Crisis Line, the pull became too strong to ignore,” she said. “I realized I liked what I was doing as a volunteer more than my corporate job. My positive experience at CONTACT is the foundation for everything that I’m doing now.”

Kelly first signed on as a CONTACT We Care volunteer in order to “make a difference.” She didn’t even realize at the time that it might allow her to try out a long-forgotten dream.

“I had been going to school at night for eleven years, working towards my undergraduate and graduate degrees. When I finished, I felt I should be doing something else,” said the M.B.A. graduate. Kelly said she was attracted to the regular, on-going nature of the volunteer work at CONTACT. “I liked the idea of being trained for something. I felt it would keep me focused and committed.”

Kelly enrolled in CONTACT’s intensive 12-week training program that covers active listening skills, grief, mental illness, and suicide prevention. “I realize now what an absolutely fantastic training it is!” she exclaimed. “It prepared me so well for all the training I have been getting as a future psychologist. CONTACT taught me how to help people capitalize on their strengths. It’s not about giving advice.”

CONTACT We Care trains volunteers to offer the gift of listening to callers who are lonely, depressed, stressed or even suicidal. The non-profit has been serving callers throughout New Jersey for 33 years.

Kelly continues to volunteer on the hotline and also teaches new volunteers how to assess the risk of suicide. She even served for a few years as CONTACT’s Training Director and Clinical Director. “In some way I’ll always be connected to this organization. I feel a very strong connection with CONTACT.”

“So many people are isolated due to disability, mental illness and life circumstances. When you work on the hotline, you make a connection with the caller. If you can lighten their load for twenty minutes, it’s a gift to them and to yourself.”

Kelly describes how volunteering for CONTACT has enriched her life in countless ways. “As a CONTACT volunteer you learn how to truly listen to others. It’s made me a better wife, daughter, sister, and friend.”

For anyone else considering the fields of psychology or social work, Kelly says CONTACT We Care offers a great, low-risk way to test it out. “You don’t have to invest lots of time or money to discover if this is the field for you.” For more information about volunteering for CONTACT We Care or to register for the upcoming September training class, please call 908/301-1899 or visit www.contactwecare.org.