Volunteer Alexandria’s Theresa Kramer-Burgess uses social media to help the city

If you’re an Alexandrian on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve seen Volunteer Alexandria posts written by Theresa Kramer-Burgess.

If the Volunteer Alexandria needs something, Kramer-Burgess lets everyone know about it on social media. Sometimes she posts more than a dozen times a week on each platform.

Starting 7/25, @ACPSk12 is providing free meals for any enrolled ACPS student. Volunteers needed 7:30 – 11 am. #VolunteerALX Patrick Henry https://t.co/XCp1lqEtdo
Alexandria City HS https://t.co/szsrDQBkoQ
Cora Kelly https://t.co/Z2sDr3sAeF
William Ramsey https://t.co/vdyLvf6AlO pic.twitter.com/KHyyN9wrKf

— Volunteer Alexandria (@Volalex) July 20, 2022

Kramer-Burgess has been Volunteer Alexandria’s social media coordinator since 2017, and Executive Director Marion Brunken says the nonprofit would be helpless without her.

“Staff and all (Volunteer Alexandria) Board members love what Theresa does, and appreciate your time and talent she gives to us and the community,” Brunken said. “Without her, we really wouldn’t be where we are today.”

There are dozens of volunteering opportunities available in the city, and Volunteer Alexandria staff struggled with social media until Kramer-Burgess took the responsibility off their hands.

“We need to take care of each other,” Kramer-Burgess said. “I love seeing results that have an impact on people’s lives and in the community. If I can be a small part of that, that’s something that as the human I feel I need to do. We should all do something to try to improve things in the world, whether it’s picking up a piece of trash or letting people know that something is available.”

Kramer-Burgess lives in the Alexandria area of Fairfax County, and has been in marketing for 30 years. She describes herself as a behind-the-scenes type of person, and says the first few months of the pandemic were challenging. The need for volunteers increased exponentially, and she worked upward of 20 hours a week posting about availabilities.

“To see people answer the call and give of themselves and sign up for opportunities — it’s just been so amazing to see,” Kramer-Burgess said. “It’s been gratifying and restores one’s faith in people.”

Things have calmed down now, and now Kramer-Burgess gives about five hours a week to the cause. She also says she has no plan to walk away from her duties.

“It’s a part of my life now,” Kramer-Burgess said. “If they take my computer away from me, I guess I’ll have to stop, but no. I don’t have an endpoint. I never thought I’d be doing it for five years, but it fits in with my life.”

Inspire girls to be strong, confident, and healthy! Girls on the Run is a program that creatively integrates running. You'll be trained to facilitate our easy-to-follow curriculum 2X week for ten weeks starting the week of Sept. 12. #VolunteerALX https://t.co/X19gWMZUZD pic.twitter.com/Z3yyWwAUG1

— Volunteer Alexandria (@Volalex) July 16, 2022

Kudos to the teens who helped with this week's grocery and lunch distribution at @MeadeChurchVA. The Break With Impact (BWI) group also learned about food insecurity in the community. #VolunteerALX Limited space is still available for upcoming BWI events. https://t.co/8k8sGlvTxi pic.twitter.com/kQNhKXLjGE

— Volunteer Alexandria (@Volalex) July 15, 2022

Photo via ALIVE!/Facebook