Volunteer Spotlight: Tanya Voris

Volunteer Spotlight: Tanya Voris
One Opportunity Leads to Another

As part of National Volunteer Recognition Week, which is held April 21-27, 2024, we will be spotlighting a volunteer each day. Cornwall Manor is proud to recognize 352 volunteers dedicated their time and talents to Cornwall Manor throughout 2023, contributing 23,821 hours to our community.

Through her church, Tanya found a unique opportunity that fit her schedule and enabled her to use her talents to benefit the Cornwall Manor community.

“There were many Cornwall Manor residents in our church congregation and that’s how it started,” Tanya shares. She began volunteering at Cornwall Manor in 2004 in the Manor Shoppe (gift and convenience store in the Freeman Community Center) and almost immediately took on several responsibilities of working as a cashier, shopping, ordering the greeting cards and when the grocery section was added to the Manor Shoppe, she did the shopping for that too.

Volunteering at Cornwall Manor fit her schedule because her primary focus was raising and supporting her daughter, Dana, while she was in school at nearby Cornwall Elementary. Dana was active in the music program at Cedar Crest Middle and High Schools, which meant that Tanya was too. Tanya became a volunteer with the Music Aides to support the school district’s choral/band/orchestra division. “We raised funds for trips, new uniforms, instruments and to bring musicians in to teach the students.” This program benefited kindergarten through 12th grades.

Her involvement in the Cornwall Manor Society’s Manor Shoppe lead to her participation in more Cornwall Manor Society functions, like the annual Fall Festival, which later became the Blooms & More Festival. She was the treasurer for the Blooms & More Festival, treasurer for the Cornwall Manor Society and co-chair for the Cornwall Manor Society’s 60th Anniversary Chocolate Festival. Eventually she started volunteering at Campus Collectibles (today known as the Treasure Trove thrift store) and since 2011 she is a lifetime member of the Cornwall Manor Society.

In 2017, Cornwall Manor announced a campus renovation plan which included combining the Curiosity Shoppe and Campus Collectibles. Tanya was instrumental in the planning of combining the two shoppes and helping with the move into one larger and more convenient location. The Curiosity Shoppe was located in the Wellness Center and featured men and women’s clothing and shoes, purses and jewelry. Campus Collectibles was located in the lower level of Laurel Place and sold furniture, household and décor items, books and much more. It made sense to combine the two thrift stores into one location, which is known today as the Treasure Trove.

Since the Treasure Trove opened in 2018, Tanya is co-manager and handles the social media of the Trove as well as co-coordinates the clothing section with resident and volunteer Nancy Mills. The Trove donates usable clothing that isn’t sold in the store to other area non-profit organizations like Jubilee, the Salvation Army and Goodwill.

Tanya was influential in establishing a relationship with the Glass Slipper Project of Lebanon by donating any fancy dresses and shoes from the Treasure Trove. This non-profit organization recycles gently used prom gowns, cocktail dresses and sells them for $10 to area high school students, ensuring that every student can dress up for their memorable high school prom.

Through her involvement as a volunteer at Cornwall Manor, she met many residents. One of those residents is a member at local Quentin United Church of Christ that has a shop in the church to collect clothes for young adults preparing for job interviews and families in need. Quentin UCC also collects clothing for local school districts to give to nurses, teachers and for students in need.

“Each time we change seasons in the Treasure Trove, we are donating the unsold items to other organizations like Glass Slipper and Quentin UCC,” she shares. “Through my volunteering at the Treasure Trove, I am helping not only Cornwall Manor but the community as a whole. I love feel good stories!”

Tanya recently agreed to chair the Cornwall Manor Society’s 75th Anniversary Chocolate Fest to be held in 2025. The Society is the auxiliary of Cornwall Manor and raises funds for benevolent care and wish list items for personal care and health center residents.

“I don’t know what I’d do if I wasn’t volunteering. When I see how active the Cornwall Manor community is, it shows you that you can volunteer at any age,” Tanya shares. “The relationships and friendships I have established has led one volunteer opportunity to the next, which allows me to continue making a difference.”

In addition to her time spent at Cornwall Manor she also recently got involved in the Power Packs Project in Lebanon in October 2023 through her church, Cornwall United Methodist. This outreach puts together bags or “packs” of nutritious food for children in Lebanon, Lancaster and York Counties that do not have enough food to eat – specifically over the weekend when school is not in session. The packs come with a recipe, all the ingredients to make the recipe, protein, produce, milk and extra items such as peanut butter, cereal, healthy snacks, canned fruits and vegetables. Packers put together packs on a Tuesday and Tanya helps with distribution.

“I may not always see it, but I know I am making a difference.”

All of us at Cornwall Manor see it, Tanya and we thank you for being part of our community!