Volunteer Spotlight
Sarah Robart
Sarah Robart (left) receives the Massachusetts Medical Reserve Corps Volunteer of the Year Award from Liisa Jackson
Commitment to service is the hallmark of the Medical Reserve Corps and no volunteer demonstrates that passion more than Sarah Robart. Since she first joined the Region 4A MRC in August 2006, Ms. Robart has been one of its most active volunteers. She has shown tremendous leadership abilities in a variety of areas, including planning, promotion and implementation. On March 20, 2007, she was awarded the Massachusetts Medical Reserve Corps Volunteer of the Year Award, at the Best Practices Conference in Marlborough, MA for her remarkable contributions. Region 4A Coordinator, Liisa Jackson, lauded Ms. Robart in the commemoration, “This nomination is for a volunteer who has worked tirelessly in preparing and protecting her community. She quickly understood the mission of the MRC, and the value of it to her hometown of Stow, MA.”
Ms. Robart began volunteering in the summer of 2006, several months after having been diagnosed with cancer. When asked why she joined the MRC, Ms. Robart said, “After undergoing treatment I realized that I needed to concentrate on the important things in life—family, friends and my community.” Her many accomplishments include establishing an Executive Committee of seven members to assist in developing the 4A MRC. As Chairwoman, Ms. Robart works collaboratively with the Committee and Ms. Jackson to lead a base of 76 volunteers effectively.
Over the past several months, she has organized a number of public meetings to recruit additional volunteers and to spread the mission and goals of the Medical Reserve Corps. In coordination with the Fire and Police departments and the Stow Board of Health, Ms. Robart developed the organization’s mission statement along with its short and long-term objectives. One of Stow’s long-term objectives is to conduct and support bi-annual tabletop drills and annual town-wide drills in conjunction with the town’s First Responders.
Aside from working with local municipalities, Ms. Robart organizes outreach programs, with the help of the local school system, aimed at teaching local families about general Family Preparedness. Ms. Robart also works with the Stow Council on Aging to provide 72 Hour Emergency Preparedness Courses for senior citizens and their animals. She and the Committee are currently organizing a tri-town recruitment effort between Bolton, Lancaster and Stow in hopes of sharing ideas on how best to recruit, train, and retain new volunteers.
Ms. Robart feels that she has greatly benefited from joining the MRC. “I enjoy spending time with people of similar interests and learning new skills during educational seminars,” she said. When asked what she likes most about volunteering, she said, “I like showing my two children how important it is to give back to the community, and that volunteerism should be a part of our lives.” Apart from her volunteer commitments, she works as a registered nurse at Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain. Ms. Robart began her career in London, England, where she trained as a registered nurse and then specialized in ICU nursing.
Ms. Robart lives with her husband of 18 years and her two children. During her spare time, she enjoys traveling with her family to Europe and visiting her parents in Spain. She hopes to travel the world using her nursing background to support those in need, either through the MRC or by joining the Peace Corps. “I want to be able to look back on my life and know that I did something to make the world a little better,” Ms. Robart said enthusiastically. Clearly, she is already on that path.
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