Retired theater teacher helps spread value of volunteerism

By Melissa Borgerding
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

“Retirement is a time to give back,” says Carol Dapogny, who sums up the motivation behind her volunteer work with a single verse from the Book of Matthew: “The gift you have received, give as a gift.”

Helping kids become leaders
This quotation is the guiding force behind the Visitation Scholarship Program, which helps put inner-city school kids on the track to college. A longtime volunteer, Dapogny is passionate about the program. “The graduation rate from Chicago public high schools is less that 50%. This program lets kids go to the Catholic high school of their choice, where graduations rates are infinitely better,” she says.

In the 17 years since the program began, Dapogny estimates that several hundred students, who may not have otherwise had the opportunity to pursue a quality education, have graduated. “Ninetynine percent of those kids go off to success in college. Now, they’re coming back to take part in this program and being leaders in the world.”

Dapogny emphasizes that the program is not a free ride. “Kids and their families have to really want this,” she explains. Not only do students have to commit to good grades and good attendance, they must themselves participate in volunteer work.

Lessons from the theater
A retired speech and theater teacher, Dapogny is particularly attuned to issues involving education, but she devotes equal time to the arts. For the past 30 years, she has been a member of the all-volunteer company at the Theatre of Western Springs.

“I’ve done everything from being the chair of the board to sweeping floors,” she says. She also directs and even acts, appearing most recently in the company’s production of Arsenic and Old Lace.