In the world of nonprofits, volunteers are essential. Much like the staff, they wear many hats; they work events, serve on boards, answer phones, fundraise, give tours and a myriad of other things that organizations need to function every day.
The Grace Museum has worked with its fair share of great volunteers, and it is often the quiet, unassuming ones who work the hardest. JoAnn Avara is just that kind of volunteer, and as such, The Grace proudly recognized her as its 2024 Volunteer of the Year.
JoAnn relocated to Abilene in 2020 to be closer to her mother shortly after her husband, Jim, passed away. She had spent the last 35 years of her 40-year career teaching elementary art in Sherman. She taught for various years in each of its six elementary schools. As is often true for school art programs, JoAnn had to be ready to use whatever resources were available in any given year. “I’ve had my own classroom, with and without sinks. I’ve taught in other people’s classrooms, and I’ve moved around with an Art Cart. Whatever I could do to keep teaching art to kids, I did.”
JoAnn reflects on how much she enjoyed being an art teacher. “Every year was interesting and felt different because the kids were always different. I loved watching how their creativity developed. When you teach a kindergartener how to use a ladybug-sized drop of glue, or their first pair of scissors, you’re providing a foundation for them. Good art teachers are catalysts for creativity.”
She recalls one of her favorite memories painting a mural with her students in the Sherman school library. “I always liked combining art with reading. That year, we painted a woodland scene from a book we’d just read about a rabbit family. The rabbits were all reading books and the kids were perched up in trees. We had so much fun working on that, the kids and me.”
So, when it came to JoAnn looking for places to volunteer in Abilene, being a retired art teacher made The Grace Museum feel like a natural fit. “It’s really the people that keep me around though. I love the atmosphere and enjoy being around the staff and other volunteers. The art is just a bonus,” she said, smiling.
She began by volunteering at the 2021 Children’s Art + Literacy Festival, which she continues to do every year. The Grace’s volunteer coordinator got JoAnn plugged in as a museum member and introduced her to their volunteer support group, Los Aficionados, where she stays involved and has even served on the board. She helps each year with crafts at Grace family festivals, holiday events, and really enjoys hanging artwork in the galleries for the annual Youth Art Month exhibit. “I’ve even been asked to step in as a substitute art teacher for the museum’s Arts Outreach program a few times.”
In true educator form, JoAnn never stops learning more and growing her own skills. She enjoys taking the adult art classes at The Grace, she paints and crafts at home and spends a lot of time with the Abilene Quilters’ Guild, where she is a devoted member.
Are you interested in joining JoAnn and other volunteers having fun at The Grace Museum? Contact Sheila Scevers at info@thegracemuseum.org to learn more about Los Aficionados and other ways you can get plugged in.
Contributed By The Grace Museum
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