Woman Follows in Mother’s Footsteps

* Pat McFarland, 52

Occupation: Full-time volunteer

Oraganization: Human Options, program for abused women, and other community organizations

Address: Human Options, P.O. Box 9445, South Laguna, CA 92677. (714) 497-5620

Charity work has been an integral part of Pat McFarland’s life since her childhood in Pennsylvania, where she learned from her mother’s example.

“I was raised by a very loving mother who spent most of her time doing volunteer work,” said McFarland, 52.

She followed in her mother’s footsteps by helping in Sunday school, and when she was 13 she became a candy striper at the local hospital.

“It was at the hospital I had my first experience with pain, because we had a very happy household,” McFarland said from her Costa Mesa home, which she shares with her husband, Edward. “There was a man who had been severely burned and they allowed me to befriend him. . . . Here I was, this impressionable child and I realized that just being a friend to someone can make all the difference in the world.”

Since then, McFarland has volunteered for a host of nonprofit organizations. Although she has a teaching credential and did home teaching for a while, she chose to devote herself to raising her two now-grown children, Lynn and Rusty, and to her volunteer work.

That work has included activities with St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, the Volunteer Center of South Orange County, FISH (Friends in Service to Humanity), SOS (Share Our Selves) and the United Way of Orange County.

When her mother became critically ill with leukemia, she began working with American Red Cross bloodmobiles.

“I knew I could never in my life donate enough pints of blood to replace what she used, so I got involved,” McFarland said.

In addition, she served on the board of South Coast Repertory and helped raise money for its new facility, one of the first major capital development programs she worked on.

Since then, fund-raising has become her specialty. She has helped solicit support for Human Options, an 18-bed South County shelter for battered women and children, and has served on its board for six years.

She often shows a video about Human Options to groups or to individuals she invites over for coffee. Although she has watched the video dozens of times, she still gets teary-eyed when she watches the women talk about their experiences.

“It’s a powerful story,” she said. “Every time I come home, I just give Ed a big hug. I live in a violence-free home and that’s not something everyone in Orange County can say.”

McFarland said her faith in God has been an important force behind her charity work.

“I feel that because I have been given so much, I really should give it back,” she said.

Sandy Condello, assistant director of Human Options, said McFarland is a dedicated, hard worker who has brought a strong but gentle voice to the shelter’s board.

“She’s enthusiastic and gracious,” Condello said. “She always has a kind word for every staff person and every volunteer and she never forgets to thank people.”