Long Time ContactLifeline Volunteer, Carol Shackleton, Honored
Crisis call center volunteer, 93, retires after 41 years
Brittany Horn, The News Journal 7:25 a.m. EDT July 20, 2015
“You’re going to the prom,” says Rosemary Barat (right) jokingly as she puts a corsage on Carol Shackleton. The volunteer of more than 40 years was honored Friday with a surprise luncheon from employees and volunteers with ContactLifeline.(Photo: SUCHAT PEDERSON/THE NEWS JOURNAL)
PENNY HILL – All Carol Shackleton wanted to do was return her crisis counseling manual.
But Shackleton’s friends and fellow volunteers at ContactLifeline, a 24/7 crisis support hotline based in Penny Hill, weren’t letting the 93-year-old volunteer off that easy.
“All I was going to do was bring the old notebook,” the Wilmington resident said, shaking her head and laughing. Instead, Shackleton found herself donning Hawaiian leis and eating cake Friday to celebrate her 41 years of service and her receipt of the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for volunteer service.
Shackleton doesn’t remember the first phone call she took during her volunteer hours, soothing people of all backgrounds and ages as they called in to talk about relationship problems, suicide and stress.
Over the years, the white-haired woman with wire-rimmed glasses developed a sort of cadence on the phone with people that called regularly just to hear her voice.
Over the years, ContactLifeline Coordinator Nancy McGee has heard many people speak to callers, but she said listening to Shackleton was always one of her favorites.
“I love her voice on the phone,” she said. “She would say (to callers), ‘That’s OK, we’re here anytime.’ ”
For Shackleton — who really was at the hotline center more often than not — volunteer work was “what you did” as a way to give back to the community, she said. Her mother instilled in her from a very young age that volunteerism was not only important, but expected.
She worries that today’s generations don’t understand the connection that volunteering gives them with the community and cites the decreased number of listeners with the hotline as an example.
The 24/7 hotline center currently has about 30 volunteers that work anywhere between one shift a week to 40 hours a week, Executive Director Eric Merlino said.
Listeners complete a little more than 40 hours of training before actually manning the phone and text crisis lines, he added, and a small stipend is offered for the overnight shift to help attract volunteers.
But funding is limited and so are the people willing to listen. Part of being good at the job is knowing when to stop talking, Shackleton said.
“I believe I’m a fairly good listener,” she said, wondering aloud what made her good at the job. “I’m not a speaker. Some people like to give advice but I think I’ve curbed that.”
“My kids might not agree but…,” she said before bursting into laughter.
Everyone in the room, though, did agree – Carol Shackleton was their hero, just as the frosted cake read. And after more than 40 years of service, many marveled at all she gave of herself.
For now, Shackleton is going to do a lot less talking on the phone. In her retirement from the crisis center, she said she plans to swim more at her local pool – she doesn’t like sand or the beach all that much – and travel with her family.
But she can finally rest assured that her training manual from 41 years ago is safely back in the hands of the crisis help center – she doesn’t like to waste, either.
The manual will be archived and reviewed, McGee said, “to see what we’re doing better and what we need to bring back.” Shackleton’s presence, however, will be hard to replace within the walls of the call center.
“When I grow up, I want to be Carol Shackleton,” McGee said, reiterating the message pinned to her chest. Shackleton just shook her head and laughed.
More info
To learn more about ContactLifeline, either to volunteer or to use the 24/7 crisis helpline and sexual assault services, call 1-800-262-9800.
