Volunteer Spotlight: Karen and Maddie Loebbaka
Mother/daughter team Karen and Maddie Loebbaka have been volunteering for Zero Breast Cancer’s Annual Dipsea Hike for 5 years—starting when Maddie was 11! Karen heard about the hike 6 years ago from a friend who is a breast cancer survivor and participated as a hiker the first year she was involved. Then, she and Maddie got interested in volunteering through the National Charity League, a nonprofit that promotes the benefits of mothers and daughters doing volunteer service together. If you’ve recently participated in the hike, you likely met them at the registration table, which they are well-experienced at running.
Their favorite type of volunteering involves interacting with people and they both love being outdoors, so the Dipsea Hike is a good fit. Maddie explained, “I think that there’s something really special about the community at Zero Breast Cancer. It’s an organization that has a unique feel to it. There’s something extraordinary about everyone waking up at 6 am on a Saturday and voluntarily going to cold Mill Valley to spend their morning on a 7 mile hike. I think it brings a lot of interesting, enthusiastic, passionate people that are super fun to interact with and meet.” Karen added, “We’ve just fallen in love with the people who run it. Rose Barlow in particular is such a sweetheart, and Anne-Marie [Hartwig]. We get excited to see them each year. And we’ve started recognizing some of the hikers that come back year after year.”
In addition to volunteering at the Dipsea Hike, each year they look forward to volunteering together for Special Olympics and Bridge the Gap College Prep. Karen is also in her second year as President of the Redwood High Foundation and is active in local politics to improve school funding. Now 16, Maddie is a junior at Redwood High in Larkspur. Currently an editor for the school newspaper, she is interested in pursuing a career in journalism or the media. She keeps active with a position on the varsity field hockey team and has a job serving frozen yogurt in Larkspur.
Thank you Karen and Maddie for your long-time commitment to volunteering at our Dipsea Hike!
