• I BUSINESS I Careers of Giving 54 FRIDAY, MAY 17, 1991 ADRIEN -CHANDLER Special to The Jewish News obbie Blitz's excite- ment is hard to sup- press. She is in the formative stages of a fledg- ling business. And being an entrepreneur is a new ex- perience for the 46-year-old former nurse. Ten or 15 years ago, she says she never would have had the confidence to under- take a start-up venture, even with a partner. But Mrs. Blitz is a different person than she was back then. She realizes now that she has the skills and ability to develop her new personal services company, called "We'll Do It." She is looking forwa rd to the challenge and the new chapter in her life. Her change in attitude came from volunteer work. Like thousands of her con- temporaries, Mrs. Blitz worked her way up through the volunteer ranks of various organizations, do- nating her full time to causes. In doing so, she says she learned valuable business and leadership skills without realizing it. Many of today's profes- sional volunteers were on the cusp of the women's move- ment. So instead of feeling the compulsion to bring home money, they worked to better the community and in a sense, validate themselves, Mrs. Blitz says. "My generation is the one that stayed home," says Bar- bara Grant, 52, past presi- dent of National Council of Jewish Women - Greater Detroit Section. She left the teaching. profession to raise children. "Nobody really worked for a living unless they loved it or had to." Mrs. Grant says the train- ing received in the volunteer sector has paralleled women's growth in the for-profit sector and is equally substantive. In many ways, in a tradi- tionally female role of career volunteer, these women mir- ror their full-time working counterparts, developing pro- fessional skills as they climb the volunteer ladder. "Ours (NCJW) is a cor- porate structure," Mrs. Grant says. "The infrastructure has to be corporate or NCJW wouldn't move ahead." In addition to professional and leadership skills, volun- teerism offers networking and mentoring. But the key is the development of tangible skills, contacts and self- confidence. Bobbie . Blitz most recently served as president of the Sinai Hospital Guild. And after three years of running Mrs. Grant says the training received in the volunteer sector has paralleled women's growth in the for-profit sector and is equally substantive. board meetings, building con- sensus, managing budgets, handling personnel matters and representing the hospital in the community, Mrs: Blitz felt she could be on a par with any corporate chief executive officer. "When I accepted the Guild presidency, a past president told me that when I finished, I could run General Motors. And I laughed. But the reali- ty of it is, that I dealt with the same kinds of issues that the president of any corporation deals with." Unlike the business world, the top unpaid jobs usually have a limited term. That can leave some of the career volunteers hanging in limbo. When you top out, climbing as high as you can go, what do you do for an encore? These women indicate the next step is dictated by choices of taste, interest or need. Some continue to work full-time in the volunteer sec- tor. Others transition their skills into the work force. Some, like Mrs. Blitz, start their own businesses. Mrs. Grant admits the in- fluence and prestige of her volunteer position was hard to give up. "Nobody is lonelier than a past president the day after installation. It's like leaving any job. You know you have to go on to something else to fill that void. You can't feel like you own the job. When that hap- pens, you have to get out of there." Adds Barbara Cook, "I'm not sure you ever have to top out. There are so many oppor- tunities. You can take those same skills and use them in an equal manner in another volunteer capacity." In fact, Mrs. Cook chaired the committee that organized the recent Israel In- dependence Day activities in Detroit. Mrs. Cook, 47, has been volunteering her time and energy for 15 years. Like any corporate executive who has achieved a certain level of proficiency and respect in the field, she says, "if you're good, it doesn't make a dif- ference" where skills came from. In Mrs. Cook's case, she broke through a glass ceiling by becoming the first female president of Adat Shalom Synagogue. Over the last year or two, Mrs. Cook, a lawyer who like many others of her genera- tion, gave up work to raise a family, has contemplated entering the work force. Yet, she doubts she would find anything that gives her as much satisfaction as volunteering. "Some people need to have a paycheck .to be validated. What really validates them is being good and professional at something," Mrs. Cook says. After working for years as a volunteer, Amy Brown landed a job. "To me, it's not a matter of, `I've been giving away for free all these years, now it's time to get paid for it,' " she says. "I like the benefits of the paycheck. But that just can't be what makes you happy about getting up in the mor- ning and going to work," says Ms. Brown, director of volunteer services at Sinai Hospital, who left teaching after her first child was born. After two tours of duty as a vice president for NCJW, Mrs. Brown, 53, felt "the need to make some changes. I wanted to try something dif- ferent, to use my talents in new ways." She also had to secure employment out of financial necessity. Along with her feelings of relief and some letdown, Mrs. Brown had to do some soul- searching. "There was some concern. 'Well, what am I go- ing-to do? What am I? I don't want to go back into teach- ing. And who's going to want me? What are they going to see that I can do?' "I was lacking self- confidence. Facing the work world, I was nervous. It was Bobbie Blitz is starting her own business. • Photo by Benyas Kaufman Many professional volunteers discover unknown business skills. What happens next?? m 0 0 . IM 0 "4 - -4 '4 -4 4, 4 -4 .4 —4 1