Become A Volunteer at the Newberry Opera House

By: Loni Scavone

The Newberry Opera House has many volunteers that help make the magic happen show after show! The Opera House hopes to shine a light on Mark and Loni, who have been volunteering at the Opera House for two years. Here’s their story.

My husband, Mark & I moved to Chapin from San Jose, California in 2019, after discovering the town on a week-long vacation several years ago. We fell in love with the lake and the friendly and charming area. We found my dream home on the water in the Oaks. A great plus for us is the terrific neighbors all around us. Not having kids made it easy to relocate across the country and being retired, we were looking for ways to immerse ourselves into the community.

The seller of our home was a volunteer at the Newberry Opera House. Her good friend convinced us to sign up to volunteer. We met at a music venue, and were looking for places to see and hear great live music and shows. We feel lucky to have found such a pretty & historic place in Newberry. We make it an event when we volunteer with a nice dinner out before or after the shows. Newberry is a quaint town with many nice pubs and restaurants to choose from.

Our favorite thing about the Opera House is that it brings top acts to our local area in a great venue that doesn’t have a bad seat in the house! Whether we’re in the audience or volunteering, we always take the time to chat with patrons. At the Opera House, you always have something in common with everyone.

Another way we get involved with the community is St. Francis Community Thrift Shop. Mark has a tech background and keeps busy testing and fixing items that get donated. I help sort all the great donated items to each department. We enjoy seeing our neighbors shop at the store and meeting new folks there. There are many customers that come in every week!

We especially like that funds raised at the shop goes back into the local community to schools, the police and fire departments, as well as charitable organizations, such as We Care Food Pantry and Good Samaritan Free Medical Clinic, which is open on Thursdays from 4 to 6 PM. I’m an RN and you can find me volunteering there as well.

We couldn’t be happier and are very proud of this community and all it does for its residents and neighbors. Hope you all get out and enjoy all that’s around us!

Want to join Mark & Loni on this great adventure? Join The Newberry Opera House for volunteer training on Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 10:00 A.M. Contact the Front of House Coordinator, TJ Millwood at 803-276-6264 or TJ@ NewberryOperaHouse.com to sign up today!