by Lex Thomas
Sterling is a part of a larger community area known for its myriad of opportunities for people to give back, and longtime resident Pam Guild is no stranger to the volunteer circuit.
As a single twenty-something working in Worcester, Guild was looking to meet and make friends when she decided to donate her time to the Greater Worcester Jaycees, a chapter of the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce.
“I met great people who believed in making a difference in their community,” Guild says, adding that many of those fellow volunteers are friends whom she has seen regularly over the past three decades. “I also became exposed to Worcester area nonprofits and involved as a leader with the Jaycees. These volunteer leadership roles groomed me for my corporate work life and numerous volunteer opportunities.”
Guild grew up in Sterling, attended college in New York, and lived in Worcester before marrying her husband of 22 years, Jon, and settling back in Sterling to raise their two children, Sam, 20, and Emily, 18, who will both be attending college in the fall.
“My family thinks I’m crazy sometimes with so much volunteering and the stress that accompanies planning and organizing successful events, but it’s important to me to give back and use my talents to make a difference,” she says. Guild formerly worked as a project manager in the corporate world, and her current part-time work is as a program manager with the Worcester area nonprofit Organization for Nonprofit Excellence (ONE). She says her background in organizing and planning projects and events lends itself well to her role as a program manager, or “matchmaker” between greater Worcester nonprofits and business skilled volunteers with ONE Worcester.
Guild has worked on many fundraising efforts alongside fellow town resident and First Church in Sterling member Linda Davis, her “fundraising partner in crime,” including the Sterling Town Wide Yard Sale, Fireside Gathering, and Wachusett Food Pantry. Guild is a current board member of the Wachusett Food Pantry, a 100 percent volunteer operation serving 125 families through monthly food distributions.
Abby’s House and LGBT Asylum Task Force of the Hadwen Church, both in Worcester, are also grateful recipients of Guild’s time and energy. She volunteers for two annual fundraising events for Abby’s House, the Spring-tacular in April, and Abby’s House 5k run/walk in October, and as an event planner for the annual fall gala for LGBT Asylum Task Force, raising funds for asylum seekers in Worcester while they await the asylum process.
Guild said her goal is to mentor others to take on some of the smaller annual fundraising events. She takes pride in her community, and said family and friends, as well as “generosity of spirit, and kind and real, authentic people” are what she enjoys most about living in Sterling.
Guild’s primary volunteer efforts over the past 20 years have centered around the First Church in Sterling, including serving on various church boards and numerous ongoing annual fundraising events such as the Caribbean Dinner to benefit the yearly La Romana medical mission trip, Super Bowl Box Lunch Auction, and her favorite and greatest success, the Treasures of the Community Gala. The annual Treasures event has raised nearly $300,000 over the years, which is allocated to four beneficiaries: Interfaith Hospitality Network of Worcester, the La Romana trip, Neighbor to Neighbor Fund in Sterling, and First Church community outreach efforts.
“We are a small team making a difference in our community,” Guild says of the Treasures planning committee. “We give it all away each year and have to start all over again. Each year brings more community folks together and makes us all aware of the great needs that exist all around us.”