Mentor Spotlight: Retta Putignano, Mentor of 3
/Every once in while a volunteer comes along who says yes, and keeps saying yes. Yes to one-on-one mentoring. Yes to planning special events. Yes to appearing in front of the entire membership in a play written just hours before by one of our girls.
Retta Putignano is this volunteer. Retta has been with WriteGirl for over eight years, and the size and strength of her commitment have only gotten greater in that time.
Retta’s mentored two WriteGirl teens through our program and on to college, and she is currently mentoring her third teen. They try to meet weekly—teen girls are very busy!—and write together.
"Aside from being charming, supportive, and kind, one of my favorite things about Retta and having had her as my mentor is the way she could make me laugh. Spending hours over coffee and our notebooks cackling like hyenas together, and coming up with new ideas amidst the cookie crumbs and mayhem. She is someone who I will always look up to, as well as love, and has inspired me in a way that helped make me the person I am today, for which I will always be grateful."
Portia, WriteGirl Alum
Retta also volunteers on the Events Team, planning fundraisers and special events—venues, food, guests… and silent auctions. Retta leads a team of silent auction fairies who generate miraculous donations, set up enticing displays and run flawless auctions.
WriteGirl is lucky to have Retta’s skills, her dedication, her leadership. She honors WriteGirl with her steadfast commitment, even as we honor her.
