Pam Mulhall

I worked for the Intel Corporation in Albuquerque, New Mexico for over 20 years. When I had the option to retire, I took advantage of a unique partnership between Intel, Encore.org and the United Way of Central New Mexico.

I applied for the Encore.org Fellowships program that allows Intel retirees to work for a year in a nonprofit. I was a little young to retire fully and, because of my work and raising my six kids, I had never had time to do nonprofit or volunteer work.

I decided to seek a fellowship opportunity helping women from my community. That’€™s because of what I experienced in my past. Before I got my college degree in electronics and a good job at Intel, I was a mother who had lost her job and had little education. I reached out for help that I hoped would be temporary, so I could go to school. That made a deep impression on me and I longed to help other women who want, not a handout, but a helping hand.

I was presented with an opportunity to do my fellowship at Crossroads for Women in Albuquerque which offers services for women who have mental health and addiction issues, like alcohol and drugs, and who are homeless. I was immediately taken by their mission.

The organization helps women find housing, provides job placement services, works with them to reunite with their family or children, and offers a day program to help them with addiction recovery and coping skills. Working with Intel for so long, I had a lot of technical ability, so I used those skills to develop a database of Crossroads clients and their services. We now query that database for quarterly reports that grant makers need.

In my fellowship, I didn’€™t get to interact with our clients that much. I did a training session on how to make soap, since I make soap. But after my fellowship ended, I was hired as a Client Systems Analyst, so I work with the clients when they bring in their rents.

I love these women. They have had nothing most of their lives. They often have no support from families. Their family members may be struggling, in prison or homeless. A good portion come from abusive families. It’€™s amazing to see the hope and happiness in their eyes when they are acknowledged for succeeding, even at something small. I know they are appreciative. I know I am having an impact.

Back when I was struggling as a 30-year old, it was my mother who came to my rescue. If not for her, I could very easily have been, like our clients, homeless with a hand-to-mouth existence. I was lucky, so I’m giving back now through an organization that says to these women, “Hey, I’€™ve got your back. We won’€™t do it for you, but we’ll help you get the tools you need.”

Working at Intel, I had so many resources and never really thought twice about them. In the nonprofit world, you are lucky if you have a computer less than 10 years old. To see our staff and their dedication to what they’re doing is inspiring.