Volunteer of the Year 2024!

Most people that are part of the Playhouse in any way have interacted with Jeff Otto at some point or at least has seen his friendly smiling face in passing. He is a one of many dedicated volunteers helping make the world a better place for those with Down syndrome. Over the last year in particular, Jeff has been a foundational volunteer for the Playhouse, and that is why we have chosen him as our Volunteer of the Year!

Jeff’s journey within the Down syndrome community started before the Playhouse. He became grandpa to Morgan in February 2018 and the love seen between the two is undeniable. Jeff was involved early in the Playhouse journey, attending our very first volunteer orientation and helping out at our pre-build open house in February 2020!

Jeff has volunteered in several programs over the last almost 4-years including Destination Discovery, Seed to Sale, and Literacy. He has also volunteered for family events including assisting with the Holiday Parade both with construction and safely driving families along the route. Jeff often states, he gets more out of volunteering than what he feels he can give. This year he has taken on multiple literacy students to ensure we don’t have to tell a family we cannot serve them and even stepped out of his comfort zone doing virtual programming.

He is someone that walks in with a smile and leaves with an even larger one and the Playhouse is beyond grateful for all he has done.

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