Listen to the interview here!
Kathy Kolb
Toni Reece: Hi there. This is Toni Reece. Welcome to the Get Inspired! Project for Berks County Living Magazine. Today’s guest is Kathy Kolb. Hi, Kathy.
Kathy Kolb: Hi!
Toni: Kathy, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Kathy: I am Executive Director of Breast Cancer Support Services of Berks County. I’ve been Director there since 2006. I’m a breast cancer survivor myself. We have lots of programs, support groups for women diagnosed with breast cancer.
Toni: Thank you for being part of the Project. First question - what does inspiration mean to you?
Kathy: Inspiration means to me the impact that one person can have on another person. There is a great quote from Margaret Mead, who is someone that I have always admired since I was a teenager. She said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” That has meant a lot to me, because we need to take some personal responsibility for making the world around us a little better.
Toni: I had no idea you were coming in with that quote, but that is absolutely one of my favorite quotes. It truly is. I’m sitting there thinking, “Oh, wow!” From what I understand with what inspiration means to you is that you really are inspired when you see small gestures from small groups create major change.
Kathy: Yes.
Toni: When you have witnessed that inspiration or have been part of being inspired to do something, how have you put that into practice here in Berks County?
Kathy: I think that personally, I just try to be friendly. I try to be happy. I try to take an interest in people and respect people, and just on a personal level that’s my own way of doing things. I think if each of us could smile and say something kind in support of one other person each day, the ripple effect of that would be incredible. I think it doesn’t take some big, huge, heroic event. Maybe there’s a little bit of heroism in having a bad day and being able to still smile to someone else, say something kind, and maybe that’s heroic in itself.
Toni: Kathy, have you witnessed that type of inspiration take place?
Kathy: Yes.
Toni: Can you give me an example of that?
Kathy: I can think of a great example. There was a woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer maybe two years ago, and she made lots of phone calls to Breast Cancer Support Services. She came to our support group. She made many calls to our support line. Different volunteers talked to her and helped her through and make sense of her breast cancer diagnosis.
Now, this summer, as I’ve been seeing her at some of our programs, I note that when I see her, she often has her arm around another woman who is just newly diagnosed and having some struggles. I see that woman really reaching out to her. She’s also called our office and said she wants to volunteer to be a support line volunteer, a peer counselor. When I see that, I think, “What a great thing that is.” She needed a lot of help and attention a few years ago, but now she’s extending that hand of friendship to somebody else to help them through their personal struggle. What a great thing that is.
Toni: Absolutely, to pay that forward. Really, that’s also a tribute to your organization, to be able to cultivate, engage, and guide somebody along the way. You’re actually witnessing that.
Kathy: Yes; I’m seeing it unfold.
Toni: Right. It’s almost like a birth of inspiration, isn’t it?
Kathy: Yes.
Toni: That’s pretty cool. Who in Berks County inspires you?
Kathy: I’m inspired by Bonnie Goetz and Peg McShane, who are two women who imagined a place where women with breast cancer could come together and share their thoughts and concerns. In 1993, they contacted a couple other friends who all came together and made that a reality and created Breast Cancer Support Services. That’s a great example, I think, of two women with a vision calling a couple more women to share that vision and bring their ideas really to fruition and create a great organization that has helped so many through the years.
Toni: Do you see that as a growing practice in Berks County of people that have a vision and it may only take one, and then they call another and another? Do you see that happening more and more in our community?
Kathy: I do see that happen, and I also see that happen just with the involvement of volunteers. In Berks County, there are thousands of volunteers who really do the day-to-day work of nonprofits like at BCSS. There are two part-time employees – that’s it. The work is done by volunteers. Berks County volunteers. They deliver Meals on Wheels. They tutor people in prisons. They work at shelters. Their simple actions multiplied by many, many volunteers, it’s just an incredible, incredible impact on our quality of life here.
Toni: It takes me back to the original question of what inspiration means to you, that you are inspired by one or two people that bring a community together.
Kathy: Yes.
Toni: So it’s not just those that are creating change through organizations, but it’s the layer beneath them that cultivates the volunteers that bring that organization to life.
Kathy: Right.
Toni: That’s a whole different community, isn’t it?
Kathy: It is – and also, volunteers who are willing to share their expertise. One might actually be touching the person who is receiving those services, but there are other volunteers who are working behind the scenes lending their expertise that enables the organization to do its work.
Toni: What do you want your legacy to be in Berks County?
Kathy: I’ve thought about this a lot since hearing this question. I think my legacy would be – I would like it to be – just finding joy in everyday things. Also, I would hope that people might say that I listened to other people, respected other people, and tried to be helpful and kind.
Toni: I love that. You’ve absolutely given joy in this interview. Thank you very much for doing the work that you do, and also thank you very much for being part of the Get Inspired! Project.
Kathy: Thanks.
