Aiding a great feeling

Deepa Bharath

For Jill Dulich, there is more to helping the developmentally

disabled than mere sympathy.

Dulich is a woman of action and an individual with an effervescent

passion for aiding those people who occupy a special place in her

heart.

The 52-year-old Costa Mesa resident has organized the annual

Easter Seals Invitational Golf Classic for five years straight.

Proceeds from this event benefit Easter Seals, a nonprofit

organization in Southern California that offers rehabilitation

programs for people with disabilities.

This is a special cause for Dulich because she grew up with a

cousin who was severely developmentally disabled.

“They didn’t have programs like Easter Seals when she was growing

up,” she said. “Her parents had to keep her home. People like her

almost always ended up going into an institutionalized environment

instead of living their lives.”

Easter Seals offers a variety of programs including vocational and

job-training programs, Dulich said.

The golf tournament Dulich organized on March 8 scooped up about

$65,000 in profits for the group. Dulich coordinates everything from

gathering golfers to getting the contract down with the golf club.

“It’s a lot of work,” she said. “But it’s totally worth it.”

Dulich is a busy executive with Marriott’s risk management

department. Her job involves travel, as well.

“But I’ll always have time for this,” she said. “Because it’s

important to give back to the community. I’ve been blessed with good

health and a good family. But not everybody is.”

Dulich has volunteered with Easter Seals for more than 12 years.

“The satisfaction has been awesome,” she said. “When you hear

families say they don’t know what they’d do without these programs or

when you see a program participant successfully hold a job, that’s a

great feeling.”

The biggest challenge she faces is to instill the same kind of

passion in others, Dulich said.

“Most people don’t know about what we do,” she said. “They think

Easter Seals just makes postage stamps. Our main goal is to educate

and make people understand who we are and why we do this.”

Dulich’s enthusiasm is a major asset to the organization, said

Mark Whitley, president of Easter Seals of Southern California.

“Jill has a sincere interest and passion for what she does with

us,” he said. “She provides leadership for our golfing event and

works very hard to make it a success.”