SOPAC Volunteer Profile: Sheila Rees

Meet a SOPAC Volunteer:

Sheila Rees

SOPAC prides itself on being a community arts center, welcoming familiar faces and new patrons alike. As with many non-profit organizations, SOPAC relies on the dedicated community members who generously give their time and experience in service of a shared love of the arts. Volunteers provide valuable services to administrative staff as well as patrons, and they are the smiling faces that help to make the SOPAC experience memorable.

Sheila Rees embodies everything SOPAC can ask for in a volunteer and more. In the past four years while Sheila has been a SOPAC volunteer she has ushered, sold merchandise for performing artists, and distributed posters. While volunteering at SOPAC, Sheila has seen many great performances. Though she enjoyed them all, her hands-down favorite was The Midtown Men. For Sheila, it would be “electric” to see Boz Scaggs perform at SOPAC.

Working with the other volunteers has been a gratifying experience for Sheila. She recognizes that she shares a common interest with all the other volunteers and employees at SOPAC.  It’s that bond that builds friendships and enables them to work as a cooperative team. Sheila is always encouraging other people to volunteer at SOPAC. She feels that volunteering is a wonderful way to contribute and receive at the same time, and people who are interested in the arts would love the environment and opportunity. When speaking with patrons she often confirms people’s idea that volunteering at SOPAC is fun!

Volunteering gives Sheila an opportunity to continue her lifelong involvement in the performing arts. In addition to SOPAC, Sheila also volunteers as an usher at the Paper Mill Playhouse and the McCarter Theatre. Sheila pursues her own creative interests outside of volunteering by teaching dance and creative movement to children.  And as a talented seamstress, Sheila creates her own unique clothing.

Working at SOPAC has broadened Sheila’s perspective on performing artists and the many varieties and genres of music they create. She sees that SOPAC impacts the South Orange community in a positive way, and believes that SOPAC adds greater dimension and depth to the quality of life in South Orange.

“Anyone would be hard-pressed to find another theatrical venue that provides the opportunity to enjoy a performing artist in such an intimate setting,” stated Sheila, “I have unflagging enthusiasm for being a part of an arts institution that offers variety and accessibility to wonderful performing artists.”

For information about becoming a SOPAC Volunteer, please contact Rina Cohen at volunteer@sopacnow.org or call 973.275.1114 ext. 113. 

Imani Wills is a graduate of Frank Sinatra School of the Arts and a current Seton Hall University student in the Stillman  School of Business and a minor in Nonprofit Studies. She is currently an intern at SOPAC.