After years serving as stalwart Yale Day of Service volunteers and regional organizers, Paul Broholm ’78 and Elizabeth “Betsy” Sullivan ’74, ’76 MA will assume a new mantle, taking over as co-chairs for the 2020 and 2021 cycles of the longtime Yale Alumni Association program.
Yale Day of Service will be celebrating its 12th birthday on May 9, 2020, and Broholm and Sullivan will be on board to lead it.
Broholm is an international ally, hailing from Amsterdam and leading the charge overseas. He has organized several service projects with the Yale Club of the Netherlands and recently ended a three-year term on the YAA Board of Governors.
Sullivan, meantime, has led the Day of Service activities in Ohio since 2015. She previously served on the YAA Board of Governors and has held multiple volunteer leadership roles in the Yale alumni communities with which she engages regularly.
“We are thrilled to introduce Paul and Betsy as our Yale Day of Service co-chairs,” said YAA Executive Director Weili Cheng ’77. “In addition to being tremendous leaders, they have been dedicated volunteers and stewards for Yale Day of Service for years, leading meaningful events and programs that have energized their local alumni bases and made significant, lasting contributions to their local communities.”
As co-chairs, Broholm and Sullivan will help to set goals and priorities and provide oversight for Yale Day of Service activities. They will also work with YAA staff to recruit and support regional directors, site coordinators, and project sites for geographic areas needing volunteer engagement.
“Every year, I look forward to being a part of giving back to my community and engaging fellow alums – and sometimes even newly admitted Yale students – in meaningful, fun projects via Yale Day of Service,” Sullivan said. “It's an honor to be co-chairing the effort this year as we look for ways to expand and enhance our impact around the corner and around the world.”
While the program name suggests that projects occur exclusively on a specific day, Yale Day of Service has evolved to encapsulate more of a season. The overall goal of the program is to contribute to filling the needs of the local communities where Yalies live and work. The YAA encourages groups to participate throughout the spring and summer in order to organize around when and where the community needs are greatest.
“There are many ways Yale alumni serve every day across the world,” Broholm said. “Day of Service highlights all these efforts and reminds current and future alumni of the importance of serving the common good and using our talents to help make the world a better place.”
The call for Yale Day of Service projects will go out in mid-January, with individual volunteer enrollment set to open in mid-March. Interested alumni can find 2020 details at yaledayofservice.org after the new year. YAA staff members João Aleixo and Mara Balk are available to answer questions by phone or email.
