AnnMarie Karczmit, a passion for volunteering

AnnMarie Karczmit, a passion for volunteering

Author: Shirley Wachtel December 5, 2022 Duration: 43:00

AnnMarie Karczmit has a passion for volunteering.  A general manager at NJBIZ, a business to business newspaper, she is a wife and mother of a 21- year- old son. She started volunteering when she was 13 years old working in a nursing home and never really stopped.  AnnMarie has volunteered as a docent at a small museum, den leader/committee chair for the Boy Scouts of America, and various roles at her church, to name a few. In the past few years she took her love of volunteering and paired it with her desire to help empowering teenage girls and created a group called Girls Gifts. Girls Gifts is open to middle and high school girls and uses cooking, crafting, mentorship, and faith as a way to begin an open dialogue about what is important to them. She also runs a similar program for women called Coffee, Cake and Conversation.


You might pass them on the street or sit next to them in a cafe, never knowing the depth of their journey. EXTRAordinary PEOPLE is built on a simple, powerful idea: remarkable stories are held by everyday individuals. Host Shirley Wachtel sits down with people from all walks of life-entrepreneurs, artists, community organizers, teachers, and quiet heroes-who have chosen to leverage their unique talents to impact the world around them. This isn't about celebrity; it's about the substance of lived experience. In each conversation, guests share their narratives in their own words, detailing the specific hardships and obstacles they faced and, more importantly, the resilience and choices that allowed them to rise and create change. Listening to this podcast feels like being part of an intimate, revealing dialogue where vulnerability meets triumph. Shirley guides these discussions with empathy, drawing out the nuanced lessons within each story. The result is a collection of authentic accounts that collectively explore themes of perseverance, innovation, and human connection across society, business, and personal growth. Tune in not just for inspiration, but for a genuine sense of what it means to contribute something meaningful, and how ordinary moments can build an extraordinary life.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 44

EXTRAordinary PEOPLE
Podcast Episodes
Juliette Tolode—Living the American Dream (EP.03) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:11
Juliette Tolode is an Assistant Nurse Manager at Calvary Hospital/The Dawn Greene Hospice. She has achieved the "American Dream" journeying alone from Benin, Africa to establish a full life with friends and family as an…
Michele Schwartz--Breast Cancer Survivor (EP.02) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:16
Michele Schwartz is a 38 year old elementary school teacher, mother of two boys, ages 5 and 2 years old, and is married to her husband of 10 years. In December of 2018, Michele was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. W…
Santi Buscemi-Educator, Author, Lecturer (EP.01) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:41
Santi Buscemi is the son of Italian immigrants from Sicily. Former chairperson of the English Department at Middlesex County College in Edison, New Jersey where he still teaches, Santi has authored several college textbo…