February 2026: Volunteer Lunch

February 2026

By Kat Resanovich, Volunteer Coordinator & Educator

For this month’s volunteer spotlight, we are focusing on one of our favorite Baltimore Woods traditions; our monthly volunteer appreciation lunches! As a way to say thank you to our volunteers for the amazing work they do every month, we host a homemade lunch once a month after our A-team meetings. It’s an opportunity for our volunteer community to gather, celebrate, and enjoy some delicious food together. Over the past couple of decades, our volunteer community has grown and the structure of the lunches have changed, but our appreciation for our volunteers has always stayed the same; Baltimore Woods would not be where it is without our volunteer community and gathering to share a meal together is just one of the ways we celebrate and express our gratitude throughout the year.

The lunches began over 30 years ago, when former Executive Director Patty Weisse prepared lunch for volunteers working on a big erosion control project. After enjoying the meal, A-Team volunteer Ed Blakeslee suggested that the nature center should continue to hold regular volunteer lunches as a way to bring volunteers together and say thank you for all of their hard work. Ed got the other volunteers on board, but it was Jean Graham -a very special volunteer to Baltimore Woods – who took the lead on making a monthly volunteer lunch a reality. 

Jean took the lead to ensure the lunches could continue every month, all the while being busy with lots of other volunteer work at The Woods including being a Board member, working at the front desk, coordinating events like the native plant sale, and so much more. As Patty reflected on how she and Jean would work together to plan and prepare monthly lunches, she shared that, “the lunches truly would not have been possible if it wasn’t for Jean.” Not only did she spearhead the actual lunches themselves, she created the excitement and community around them. That meant that even when she unexpectedly passed away in 2011, everyone mobilized to keep the lunches going in her honor and memory (and Jean’s picture smiles at everyone coming into the kitchen at Baltimore Woods where so many of those meals were prepared). Alice Murphy, another fantastic volunteer, offered to make desserts for the lunches so they could continue without putting the burden onto staff.  Alice has continued to make or bring desserts since 2011, and she has never missed a lunch. That’s desserts for over 165 lunches! Even when Alice is on vacation, she finds ways to bake in advance and drop off the treats.

And others have stepped in over the years as well to be menu planners and visiting chefs. Even after retirement, Patty Weisse has continued to make volunteer lunches multiple times a year, often incorporating homegrown produce from her gardens into delicious meals that are both seasonal and sustainable. Staff and volunteers alike light up when I tell them that Patty is cooking lunch that month, and she has inspired many others to offer to cook lunch or contribute a side dish along the way.

Every month volunteers from across our whole organization get together to share a meal, reflect on the work they’ve done and celebrate completed projects, and just enjoy spending time together. When the lunches started, it was just a handful of A-Team volunteers, but now it has grown with our volunteer community to 30-40 volunteers that regularly attend along with staff and board members, too.

And each month it’s obvious that this is so much more than a lunch: it’s where volunteers who work together get to know each other on a more personal level, for volunteers across different types of work to meet and get to know each other, for Baltimore Woods to say thank you for the thousands of hours of time, talent, and support this community provide, and for the previous generation of volunteers like Jean and Ed to continue to be a part of our community even after their passing through the tradition they started.

We are deeply appreciative of the commitment and passion that our volunteers across the entire organization bring to make Baltimore Woods such a special place. Thank you to all of the volunteers who have been a part of our volunteer lunches over the years.

Our volunteer community is one of the most special parts of our organization. Interested in attending a volunteer appreciation lunch or becoming a part of our volunteer community? Sign up here: Sign Me Up to Volunteer!