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March 8, 2002/Adar 24, 5762, Vol. 54, No. 25
Rapping makes a difference
LEN GUTMAN
Jewish News Correspondent
When Alison Rapping was a child growing up in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh, her father always told her it was a person's responsibility to leave the world a better place. That, he promised, would be her reward in life.
Rapping, now 37, followed her father's advice, and when she grew up she enrolled at the University of Massachusetts, earned a bachelor's degree in public policy and a master's degree in public administration, and set off to Washington, D.C., to change the world.
She was doing a fellowship at the Ways and Means committee and was well on her way to a rewarding career "inside the beltway" when a vacation to Phoenix and a chance meeting with Make A Difference founder Marty Moore changed her life.
"I had a passion for public policy and I thought I was going to work in Washington and then become a lobbyist," Rapping recalls. "I came out here on vacation and this opportunity presented itself to me and a light bulb went off that this is exactly where I wanted to be. I never dreamed that I would get so much enjoyment out of doing grassroots community development work."
In 1994 Rapping became the nonprofit organization's first full-time executive director and today is president and chief executive officer of Make A Difference, a Phoenix organization that mobilizes people to meet community needs. Under her guidance, Make A Difference has transformed from a few motivated "kids" doing community work to a powerful network of more than 4,500 volunteers doing 60-80 community projects every month.
"Alison is a successful leader for Make A Difference because she has the vision for the community's future, the experience to implement it and the energy to drive it," says Hilary Juel, Intel's Arizona Community Relations Manager and chairwoman of the Make A Difference board of directors. "She inspires others and in turn inspires results."
Rapping credits the Make A Difference staff and founder Moore for the organization's success, but deep down knows the lessons of her father and her faith played a key role in her personal success. She said being Jewish is one of the most important things about who she is.
"Growing up in a Jewish family gives you a certain value system, a certain moral system and a belief about doing good work in the community," Rapping says. "I grew up in a very Jewish neighborhood and the ethic of service was prevalent in my upbringing. Even going to services as a child I remember learning about how we needed to partner with others to make our community a better place."
Make A Difference is affiliated with a national organization called City Cares, which brings together similar grassroots organizations from around the country. Rapping serves on the City Cares board as chairwoman of the national strategic plan committee.
However, Make A Difference certainly has enough going on locally to keep Rapping busy for years to come. One look at the group's calendar of events tells you all you need to know about how far-reaching the group's influence extends.
Each month the calendar is sent to Make A Difference's volunteers, who can choose from a variety of projects. The organization has projects all over the Valley and they are usually on weekends and weeknights. Rapping says Make A Difference is a great place to go if you think you want to get involved but are not quite sure how.
"Make A Difference is a wonderful way to learn about your community and to experience a lot of different volunteer projects," explains Rapping. "We organize all the projects so all you do is go to an orientation and then show up, so in a month's time you could stack boxes at a food bank, take your family to play softball with homeless children at the Salvation Army, take dogs for walks at the Arizona Animal Welfare League and paint a house for senior who desperately needs it."
To learn more about Make A Difference, visit www.makeadifference.org or call 602-973-2212.
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