Staff Profile: Mary Ashley
Tuesday, 2/28/2017
It takes a village to maintain a successful organization, and at Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas, that village often involves members of the community. As the Program Assistant for Community Relations, Mary Ashley is part of the team that manages those connections.
Mary Ashley’s interest in and past experiences at nonprofit organizations is what led her to MMBNT. When she first joined the staff, she spent most of her time maintaining the raw milk inventory and its related equipment, and helped with select community relations and outreach projects. As roles have shifted at MMBNT, though, Mary Ashley now is focused 100 percent in the community relations department, which is dedicated to educating the public about milk banking and increasing awareness of MMBNT’s services.
One of her primary responsibilities is to manage the volunteer program. Mary Ashley works with both groups and individuals to set up meaningful projects that help with milk bank outreach and operations. She also maintains the MMBNT blog and Twitter account. Along with the Community Relations Director, Mary Ashley plans events and develops campaigns, publications and advertising.
“In my position, I’m able to use my writing and creative skills to relay the important mission of the milk bank,” she said. “I’ve really enjoyed working to promote such a great cause.”
Another important aspect of community relations is outreach to potential milk donors. Since mothers only breastfeed for a limited time, the recruitment of new donors is constant. Mary Ashley works with hospitals, doctors’ offices, clinics and other health care facilities to distribute materials about donor human milk and how to become a milk donor.
When there’s an opportunity to share MMBNT’s message, Mary Ashley makes the most of it. “Any chance we have to familiarize the community with MMBNT is great,” she said. “The more people know about us, the more fragile babies we can serve.”
For more information about Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas, click here.
