October 2012 – Cecilia Latiolais

October 1, 2012 | 826 Blog Post

Cecilia Latiolais!

Cecilia Latiolais!

As this reporter writes this Volunteer of the Month article, this reporter is in fact looking at this month’s Volunteer of the Month.

That’s right: THE ARTICLE IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE BUILDING.

This somewhat bizarre situation was somewhat unavoidable because this month’s Volunteer of the Month, Ms. Cecilia Latiolais, is often found around the 826michigan offices, brightening them substantially with her luminous smile, endlessly creative ideas, and — it must be said — with her outfits, which are consistently very stylish.

Every volunteer who passes through 826michigan’s red velvet curtains leaves a mark on the organization, but Cecilia happens to be a volunteer who has left several, sizable, marks and who shows no signs of stopping.

Here’s what has changed around 826michigan since Cecilia joined the ranks:

The Dungeon. The Dungeon is what we call 826michigan’s supply closet. Because it’s sort of unpleasant and scary! But it contains all the little bits and pieces it takes to keep the organization running — markers, glue sticks, folders, pencils, etc. This winter, Cecilia spent a good portion of every Friday (her day off, we might add, which adds substantially to the selflessness of this already remarkably-selfless act) cleaning and organizing The Dungeon. Now, the tape and staples and glue are all one labeled shelf, and so on and so forth. We really cannot overstate how much appreciated this was by all of us at 826michigan.

The Files. We don’t have a clever name for the Files, just because there’s no pithy term that captures just how complex our feelings toward the Files can be. Once Cecilia had finished working her magic in the dungeon, she moved on the Files. Let’s just say: if the capacity to organize seemingly unorganizable-y piles of papers really is magic, then Cecilia Latiolais is a wizard. A Level Ten Wizard. And we previously thought the wizardry levels only went up to five.

The Field Trips. Although Cecilia truly is a whiz behind the scenes, she’s also great in front of them. Although Dr. Blotch is absolutely not not NOT in ANY way related to the volunteer who sits in the basement on Skype during field trips, Cecilia’s theatrical skills — which include accents ranging from Cockney to New Yawk to Southern Belle and a wide variety of costumes — have contributed mightily to our field trips program in recent months. (We can’t say any more or Dr. Blotch will fire us all.)

The Store. As if all of the above weren’t more than enough for us to honor Cecilia as a Volunteer of the Month, she has recently agreed to lend her creative and organizational skills to the Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair as our new Store Intern. We simply can’t wait to see what the future has in — wait for it — what the future has in store.

(In addition to her many other sterling qualities, Cecilia has a high tolerance for our cheesy jokes.)

Thank you so much, Cecilia, for your wonderful work with 826michigan! We are a better organized, funnier, sweeter, and more dedicated place with you around.


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