Marge Lubbers

Marge Lubbers has been a Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) volunteer at the Poverello Center for more than a year now. She manages the Clothing Room, an area of the Center where they provide free clothing for the Missoula community. Marge has used her skills and expertise to organize the room and recruit more volunteers.

Marge has come to live and breathe the Poverello Clothing Room, calling in the evenings or on her days off with ideas and suggestions. She also has recruited her husband and children to assist her in the Room with several projects.

Marge has brought order to an area often in chaos, and her concern, dedication, and work ethic are truly inspiring. The staff members adore and admire her because of what she does and the way in which she serves. If there is an opportunity to place a volunteer with Marge, she provided experience and ideas which often motivates the volunteers to return and begin serving on a regular basis.

The Clothing Room is a cavernous attic area, often overflowing with the generosity of boxes, bags, and piles of unsorted donations, mostly wonderful useful donations as well as some destined for the garbage. Marge diligently and patiently sorts through this sometimes overwhelming sight, and when she leaves several hours later, the room has been transformed, once again, into racks and shelves of clothing that is neatly and pleasingly arranges.

Marge understands that, even though a person may be homeless or in poverty, they still deserve clothing to wear that is arranged in a way that is easy to access. Sometimes this is a thankless job, because she knows the next time she comes in, there will probably be another unruly stack of bags and boxes that need to be rearranged. However, the reward in serving others is great enough to keep Marge coming back week after week.