The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘What can I do?’
New employees infuse energy into lively mix of staff
BRANFORD — As the oldest of five growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., Marie Mordarski was in charge of getting her sister and three brothers to school on time.
These days, as the new volunteer coordinator at the Community Dining Room, Mordarski, a North Branford resident, is still effectively corralling groups.
What’s likely different is the level of enthusiasm on the part of her charges.
“People who volunteer are usually really passionate about a cause because they’re giving their own time,” Mordarski, newly a grandmother, said on a recent morning in the brightly-lit office just off the dining room.
“I like working with people who are excited about what they’re doing,” Mordarski said.
Among the challenges, she said, “is to pull those people together and to plug them into those roles that draw on their gifts and abilities.”
Another challenge, particularly with a number of volunteers opting out due to health and safety concerns during the pandemic, is “keeping everyone not burnt out and energized,” she said.
For inspiration, she only has to look across the office to Diana Vaicunas, the newly-hired administrative assistant for the Harrison Avenue not-for-profit, which has been providing food, support, and companionship to Shoreline residents for 35 years.
A Branford resident, Vaicunas moonlights at U.S.S. Chowder Pot III just up Route 1. “In six years, I’ve done almost everything in service and management that you could do,” she said. The diehard New York Giants fan also coaches girls in Branford Youth Cheerleading.
“My son played football and then my daughter got into cheer, so I got excited about teaching the girls what they’re actually cheering for,” she said.
A natural
In addition to her son and daughter, Vaicunas has a 2-yearold. That’s two jobs, one coaching gig, and three kids.
“I don’t know where I get my energy,” she said, as Judy Barron, CDR’s executive director, appeared in the office. “I just love everything I do.”
For Barron, Vaicunas’ background makes her a natural for the position.
“Diana has office management experience and that’s probably the key component to being an administrative assistant, but she also knows restaurant management so she understands when all the chaos is going on what needs to be done,” she said.
That’s something that could describe kitchen coordinator Mary Johnston, who at that moment poked her head in the office, asking about a table.
Johnston, a Beacon Award winner this year, learned to establish order in chaos as the oldest girl of eight siblings growing up in North Branford.
“In an Irish Catholic family, being the oldest female means you’re cooking, you’re baking, you’re doing everything,” she said. “It means you hit the ground running.”
Evidently she hasn’t stopped. Johnston has been taking on marathons for the last two decades and logs at least 4 miles a day. This year she’s already completed six (virtual) races.
Since 2015, she’s planned the menus of upward of 50,000 nutritious meals a year; supervised the host of kitchen volunteers, from cooks to meal prep personnel, to servers and dishwashers; and managed the food that comes in from restaurants, businesses, and individuals.
“In an Irish Catholic family, being the oldest female means you’re cooking, you’re baking, you’re doing everything. It means you hit the ground running.” Mary Johnston, Community Dining Room kitchen coordinator
The pandemic
With the dining room closed over the last eight months, she has, in addition, become the face of CDR for guests picking up their meals.
“A big part of anyone coming to the dining room before COVID was to have an hour to sit and socialize and see people and have four cups of coffee if they wanted,” she said. “With everyone so isolated these days, I just feel it’s so important that our guests see a familiar face each day.”
That’s the fellowship part of the CDR mission she’s helping to meet. She’s also fulfilling the dining room’s promise to provide “more than just a meal.”
“Sometimes guests ask me questions, and if I can’t answer them, I can pipeline them to this office so they can get the services they need to help them along their journeys,” she said.
With COVID seemingly continuing, and more people seeking meals and services, Johnston reiterated her appreciation of all those who pitch in.
“It’s mind-blowing, how the individuals and restaurants and organizations along the Shoreline have helped, and are still helping, with food and monetary donations,” she said.
Above all, though, it’s the level of dedication of the volunteers in her kitchen.
“These volunteers have been here five, 10 years,” she said. “They don’t drop out, which is unusual. And they think of it as
a job because they’re so passionate about it, and I have to say to them ‘no, you’re volunteering.’”
Mordarski agreed, highlighting Mary Jo Riddle, a long-time volunteer, who’s recently taken on the task of processing intake for homebound clients remotely from her home.
“We’ve been assigning different roles for volunteers and they just jump in with a ‘what can I do?’ attitude,” she said. “Without their patience, without their flexibility, we couldn’t do what we do.”
The Community Dining Room is at 30 Harrison Ave. in Branford. To make a donation, visit https://communitydiningroom. For more information, call 203-488-9750.