“I was searching for purpose after moving to Arizona,” says Carolyn Whitney Bosserman ’81. After leaving a full-time career and trying substitute teaching, which “was not fulfilling at all,” Carolyn says, she met a neighbor who said, “Boy, do I have the job for you.”
Her neighbor connected Carolyn with Valley Bloom, an all-volunteer nonprofit founded in 1989 and dedicated to supporting women and children experiencing homelessness. Based in the Phoenix area, the group focuses on practical assistance—providing clothing, hygiene supplies, food, and emotional support to families navigating unstable housing. Volunteers work directly with local shelters, schools, and community partners to identify needs and deliver help quickly and compassionately.
Carolyn started in the thrift shop and soon immersed herself in the group’s philanthropic programs. Two years in, she began writing grants—work she now shares with her Wellesley classmate and friend Diane Rochman Lecerf ’81.
Carolyn and Diane met “freshman year at Wellesley in Severance in the same dorm, right on the first floor,” Diane says. Though life took them in different directions, reunions kept them connected. “That reunion is just amazing for keeping and building relationships,” Diane says. When Diane retired and moved to Arizona, Carolyn introduced her to Valley Bloom.
For Diane, the answer to why she volunteers is simple: “Because I enjoy it. I actually get energized by it.” Now retired from a career in health-care accreditation and quality improvement, she adds, “I’m at a stage where I really want to contribute.”
Valley Bloom’s largest outreach provides new school uniforms and essentials for thousands of children. “It’s just the basics,” Carolyn says. Yet those basics are transformative. When students receive clean clothes and shoes, “they come to school and they run right up to the principal or the school nurse or their teacher, just to show how proud they are. Their self confidence in the classroom and out on the playground really grows.”
The friends volunteer for Valley Bloom an average of 15 to 20 hours a week. “I always feel like I need to spend a good chunk of my time helping other people,” Carolyn says.
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