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Adrienne Corbett has spent 36 years working in the non-profit sector and recently stepped down from her position of Executive Director of the Homeless Families Foundation. Adrienne spent more than a decade at this position. The Homeless Families Foundation was founded in 1986 and educates and nurtures children while empowering families to achieve stable housing and self-sufficiency. Adrienne was instrumental in successfully moving HFF from a transitional shelter program to a housing-first service delivery model as well as transforming and expanding the educational program to a 21st century education enrichment program.
Adrienne graduated from college with a degree in social work in the 1970’s. “I might have known a great deal about gerontology, but I knew nothing about operating a business. A balanced budget, human resource issues, leadership and management styles were all learned by trial and error. Any woman in the non-profit world had to work doubly hard to prove herself as a competent professional.”
One of Adrienne’s many goals for retirement is to expand her volunteer activities. The last two years she was a reading mentor with two young ladies attending the HFF’s Dowd Education Center and says that it was rewarding to put aside her Executive Director role to work one on one with the girls to improve their reading and comprehension skills. Adrienne has taken a new role at the Furniture Bank of Central Ohio that allows her to combine her passion of working with older adults while continuing to benefit the families served by the Homeless Families Foundation. She plans on finding an organization where she can contribute as a board member and also plans to apply to become a volunteer guardian with the Central Ohio Agency on Aging.
Adrienne has been inspired by many people in different ways. “Individuals with the least materially are usually the most generous with their limited resources; young families who have the courage to admit to strangers that they can’t provide the very basics for their family; staff who dedicate their careers to serving individuals in need; individuals who live in chronic pain or worry but are the first to say they are blessed.”
Adrienne’s heroes are her parents, especially her mom. “They instilled in my siblings and I our responsibility to give to others, regardless of our personal resources. My mother understood the importance of women’s rights long before it was politically correct. She taught me the art of friendship, the need to cheer for other’s successes without jealousy, and that you always have time to listen.”
Adrienne’s intent for the future is not to pass on the torch of service but to light torches for others who are passionate and dedicated to their causes, especially children, older adults, and mentally ill.
To find out how you can volunteer for The Homeless Families Foundation, please visit www.homelessfamiliesfoundation.org.
