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Community Corner

Hingham Mothers' Club 'Butterfly Effect' Award Recipient, Dana Donnelly

Mother of three receives the first annual Butterfly Effect Award for her service to Hingham. "Volunteering makes us better parents."

When you talk with Dana Donnelly, the first thing you notice is her enthusiasm and passion for the topic at hand, whatever it is. The second thing you might notice is that she seems to have the cumulative energy of a classroom of 9-year-old boys, something not a lot of us adults have.

Donnelly, a Hingham mother of three, was recently given the first annual Butterfly Effect Award by the Hingham Mothers’ Club, in recognition for her years of service and dedication to the community, as well as for the effects that her work has had on all of Hingham. The “butterfly effect,” first coined by chaos theory scientists, stipulates that the tiny motions of a butterfly’s wings can have significant impact on the weather patterns around the world. The Mother’s Club Award recognizes that a single person’s efforts on a local level can have a profound effect on the world around her.

Since her family moved to Hingham 12 years ago, Dana Donnelly has been involved in school-related activities, including the Wilder Memorial Nursery School board, a number of roles at Plymouth River School (chairing and participating in a number of committees and activities, as well as serving as both vice president and president of the PRS PTO), and volunteering for the Friends of Hingham Public Schools. This year she will be entering her second term on the PRS School Council, and will continue her position on the board of the Hingham Education Foundation. In addition to these education-focused roles, Donnelly has also volunteered for the Trustees of Reservations, attended countless meetings of Town committees, and has been a Girl Scout leader for a number of years.

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Her instinct for service was instilled when she was young, she said. She saw her grandparents, immigrants from Italy and Germany, devote their time to others in their chosen careers. Her grandmother was a New York City police officer (and, after she retired, became a school crossing guard) and her grandfather, following his military service, worked for the subway system. She also recalls many holidays that her mother would take her to help at the local soup kitchen.

“There was this feeling that we are all in this together,” she remembered. “Even though cultures could clash at times, they always looked at everyone else as equals. That you should give everyone the respect they deserve.”

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She has been particularly inspired by a quote by Marian Wright Edleman, president and founder of the Children’s Defense Fund:  "Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time.”

Donnelly acknowledges that giving of yourself can be hard, especially when you have other responsibilities, but believes that “whatever you can do, however much you can give, every little bit helps.” She said that even if it’s just a small amount of time, it’s a crucial lesson for our children. “Not being self-focused sends a good message. There is a lot of self-entitlement today. No matter what, everyone should be expected to give back.” Not everyone should feel like giving back means devoting innumerable hours of your life. Everyone can give “something, even the smallest thing, that can fit into your life.”

This, she says, is one of the things she loves about working with the Girl Scouts. “We can show girls how to be leaders, how doing things for others, even the smallest things, can really make a difference.”

She is grateful for the support of her family, especially her husband, and says her ability to balance her life is not only this encouragement, but also the fact that she’s a night owl. “After school, during the evening hours, my focus is on the children. After they go to bed I get a lot done.”

And it has been her children – a 12-year-old daughter, a 9-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son -- who have inspired much of her volunteering, beginning with her involvement with the schools. Her commitment to others was elevated with the birth of her son, who was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder, Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome, which causes intellectual disabilities, a number of medical issues and development delays.

In 2010, Donnelly and her husband created the Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome Children’s Foundation (RTSCF), with the goal of promoting both medical research and providing information to families and doctors – some of whom are unfamiliar with the very rare disease. Going forward, she is enthusiastic about the work before her with the RTSCF.  “I promised [my husband] that this would be the year” she would give her all to the foundation. She is particularly excited that July 3rd marks the inaugural World RTS Day, and looks forward to bringing together the global community of families living with RTS.

At the same time, she is eager to begin a new school year of activism in Hingham. “One of the things I love about our community is that so many great people are helping out whenever they can. PRS is an especially giving community.”

“I was brought up to believe that we’re not supposed to just coast through this life, that we’re supposed to make some sort of difference, even if it’s just a small way.”

The biggest difference Donnelly hopes to make? “Teaching our kids what volunteering and service is all about, and how important it is.  We do this by example.”

Parents, but especially mothers “need to allow ourselves to believe that it’s okay to participate in the outside world, and that giving to the greater society is actually paying attention to our own kids, because this is the world they inherit. “Volunteering doesn’t take away from our taking care of our kids," she said, "it makes us better parents.”

“It’s the best lesson we could give to our children.”

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