Barbara delves into Big Brothers Big Sisters and the great work being done with children that look up to a mentor and Margaux DeConcini from Tro on just horses can make all the difference with their energy and why this organization is so highly respected.
About Margaux DeConcini
Margaux is a native Tucsonan and her belief in the power of TROT first stemmed from her volunteer experience at TROT when she was in high school. Margaux has always been involved with horses through 4-H and local shows.
Margaux is an Apprentice Graduate of Al-Marah Arabian Horses where she studied Equine Husbandry and Training. Margaux has always understood the healing properties of the human-horse connection leading her to complete a Master of Social Work degree through the University of Southern California.
Margaux focused on social change and innovation with a specialty concentration in equine-assisted therapies. Her experience in grant writing, program evaluation, and events will help to propel TROT’s legacy.
TROT Team Member Since October 2019
The impact TROT is making on the community is larger than what we do at our facility. Each participant is working on independent life goals in the arena and those transfer into their real world. Whether it be working on social skills, physical stamina, fine and gross motor skills.
Those goals translate to parallel skills needed at home from brushing their teeth to getting dressed in the morning, cooking for themselves, understanding street safety, transferring from their wheelchair to a desk, or finding the courage to raise their hand in class. Our participants are having fun in the arena, and improving their lives at home and in their community.
We also have a well-established scholarship program that helps make sure everyone has an equal opportunity to receive the services they need. There is a really strong correlation between low income and disability, were most often those of low-income experience some sort of disability and those with disabilities often end up in the low-income bracket.
TROT has never turned anyone away for their inability to pay for classes, and we are grateful for the community that has helped us provide services to everyone and every ability.
About Randy Peterson
Randy Peterson was named Director of Community Engagement for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Arizona earlier this year, but his relationship with the organization actually goes back three decades. In 1992, while still a college student in Michigan, Randy became a Big Brother for the first time to a young boy named Abe.
They were matched for one year. Then came Brandon, and again a one-year match. Randy moved to Tucson in 1999 to work for the nonprofit Foundation for Creative Broadcasting, and not long after that, became a Big Brother again, this time matched with a Little Brother named Corey for almost six years. Then came Little Brothers Stone and Talon, and now Randy is currently matched with his current favorite Little Brother, Miguel, who is an amazing soon-to-be 15-year-old. They are three and a half years into their friendship, and both of them get a lot out of the match while having fun all over town.
As Director of Community Engagement, Randy has the joy of recruiting new Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and yes, Big Couples, into the program, while also managing the nonprofit’s marketing and social media, helping with fundraising and special events, and developing new program ideas to help the agency serve even more kids and families in our community.
Randy Peterson (He/Him)
Director of Community Engagement
Big Brother to Miguel
O: (520) 624-2447 ext.2687 D: (520) 365-2687
Randy@SoAzBigs.org www.SoAzBigs.org
160 East Alameda Street, Tucson, Arizona 85701
About the Host
Barbara McClure, Executive Director
IMPACT of Southern Arizona
3535 E Hawser Street
Tucson, AZ 85739
Phone: 520-825-0009
barbara@impactsoaz.org
www.impactsoaz.org
SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter |
Barbara McClure wakes up each morning passionate about going to work at a place that improves lives and inspires futures every day! She has been the Executive Director of a Tucson social service nonprofit called IMPACT of Southern Arizona, for ten years. What is it that keeps you passionate about your role Barbara?
Barbara has been a visionary and planner with decades of experience as a small business owner and in nonprofit leadership; her innovative ideas and strategic thinking, along with a talent for bringing the community together, has helped grow IMPACT five-fold in a very short time. Her talents and interests are diverse but all center around helping people, improving the community, bolstering education, building capacity and sustainability, being vocal about the rights and conditions of others, experiencing art, nurturing all inhabitants of your garden, and enjoying life to the fullest.
And now Barbara is about to experience another exciting chapter in her life with hosting a brand-new Radio Show Podcast here on the Tucson Business RadioX Network starting in November.
IMPACT of Southern Arizona is a 20 – year old social service nonprofit stabilizing families and seniors, and moving people out of poverty. IMPACT’s programs are designed to stretch household budgets so earned income can be spent on necessities such as improved housing conditions, fuel to get to work, utilizes, and needed medical attention and prescriptions. Its clients are your neighbors! People come to IMPACT because it is a welcoming place where they are always treated with dignity and respect, and where they find resources, referrals, coaching, and help to attain the skills that can move them forward into self-sufficiency.
Barbara grew up in Pasadena CA, moved to Long Beach for college, got married and started our family then moved to Seattle area ten years later. Took our youngest son on an 11-month motorhome trip to get to Tucson – Homeschooled for 10th grade.
We vacationed at a rustic cabin when I was growing up, where we had no phone or television; and spent all our time outside fishing, hiking, horseback riding, listening to old radio shows, playing pool, reading comic books from the local small grocer, and using our imaginations all day long. I always admired the superheroes who defended people and cities like Gotham and Metropolis, so when our three boys were born, we named them after familiar character: Colin (Bryce for an overlay of Bruce Wayne, Kent, and Parker. Our first grandchild was born last year, and as in the family tradition, named Logan, after the Wolverine. I used to always tell them they were my superheroes – and they still are today!
Barbara loves working with numbers and has always loved math and the organization of things, so accounting seemed perfect, but I soon realized that I if I became a CPA I would have to spend many months inside doing tax returns, and that did not appeal to me as a long–term career! I have a great imagination and enjoy creating things, so thought I should find a better path that might nurture that side of my personality. I was working in the shipping industry in SoCal at the time and fell in love with import and export, so shifted my majors to Marketing and International Business. Those were wonderful fits, and I imagined graduating and moving to the largest port on the planet, in Germany; then, I met my future husband and things took a different turn.
A little bit about how Barbara got into Nonprofit work:
All along with my husband and I were always involved in nonprofits and community volunteer opportunities, and often said it was too bad we could not make a living doing those things we loved so much. Leadership roles in PTO, Boy Scouts, Historical Societies, Junior League, Elks, Rotary and more. Then when we moved to Tucson I looked for a local opportunity to impact my community. A Board position was about to open at IMPACT, and my local bank branch manager, Peggy Smoot, suggested I would be very passionate about getting involved in the mission work there. I worked in the Food Bank.
There are thousands of nonprofits in Tucson. What makes IMPACT Unique is that they bring the community together to stabilize families and move people out of poverty. Our true success lies in partnering with a large number of businesses, agencies, social clubs and other nonprofits. We invest $2.5 million in the community each year, and we do it all with a lean staff of amazing professionals supported by more than 170 volunteer shifts each week! We have put great systems in place to run efficiently, effectively and with a commitment to sustainability and integrity, protecting the community’s investment in our work, striving for perfect audits, being innovative, building capacity and most importantly – treating everyone with dignity and respect. We are an award-winning nonprofit with numerous nods to incredible customer service. Our clients are your neighbors… We improve lives and inspire futures of people living in Southern AZ.
So, IMPACT is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and you have been at the helm half that time. Share with me the things IMPACT has accomplished over the years, and the things you have planned for this celebratory year.
