The good Cornellians can do: Christine Whaley ’84, MBA ’89

"When I left the corporate world in 2006 to start a family, I would jokingly tell people that I became a 'professional' volunteer," said Christine Whaley '84, MBA '89.

Christine has long been a volunteer for Cornell as a class officer, president of the Cornell Club of Greater Philadelphia, and a member of the Cornell University Council and Administrative Board, among other committees.

"With a small child at home, I began to get more involved in local community efforts in addition to my Cornell volunteer work," she said.

Christine served as a board of trustee member for the Montgomery School, a local pre-K through 8th grade independent school in Chester Springs, PA, for nine years. She also became very involved with her church, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Glenmoore, PA.

Since 2010, Christine has headed outreach ministries at her church, coordinating holiday dinners for families through Good Samaritan Services, leading collection drives of health and personal care products for a free-aid clinic in Phoenixville, PA, coordinating a yearly backpack drive for a back-to-school initiative in Coatesville, PA, and engaging youth in collecting canned soups and food items during the Souper Bowl of Caring.

"Over the years, I have become a strong advocate for addressing food insecurity in our community. During the Covid lock-downs, it was particularly important to me that those in the most need within our community were not forgotten, as many of the regular support services were paused or eliminated," Christine said.

Her son, Harry Whaley '29, also got involved coordinating a drop-off food drive at his school and picking up items in our neighborhood to bring to the local food pantry.

Christine currently leads her church's monthly effort to provide home-cooked meals for  men residing in the W. C. Atkinson Men's Shelter in Coatesville, PA. .

"My volunteer work has been far more fulfilling than I could have ever imagined and my greatest joy comes from seeing the impact a small gesture of kindness can have on the larger community," Christine said.

Source: The good Cornellians can do