Danielle posing for the 2013 Campaign
If you have been involved with any events for United Way of Bucks County, you probably know Danielle Bush. Danielle is the Community Impact Assistant for UWBucks where she is an asset to everyone in the office. In addition, she is the liaison between UWBucks and other organizations. On any given day, she is matching resources to those in need, organizing site visits with member agencies, and taking charge of the Good 360 donations from corporate partners.
Danielle is a lifelong resident of lower Bucks County and a graduate of Pennsbury High School. After high school, Danielle began working at JCPenney’s distribution center here in Bucks County. During her employment, she quickly rose through the ranks and became an expert on inbound and outbound merchandise.
She became a chairperson of their Angel Network, a group of associates that raised funds for the Red Cross Homeless Shelter (now the Bucks County Emergency Homeless Shelter.) Despite her many awards, such as the Lightning Bolt Award for employee of the year, JCPenney let her go during the recession in 2009.
After this sudden setback, she quickly found employment at UWBucks. While at Penney’s, she had worked closely with UW Bucks through the Angel Network. When UWBucks heard that she lost her job, they quickly requested that Danielle submit her resume for an available position as a part-time Campaign Loan Executive. Nine days after her termination from JCPenny’s, she began working at UWBucks.
Danielle originally intended to work only part time at the United Way so she could spend more time with her children at home. However, through persistent encouragement, she applied for the Community Impact Assistant position when it became available. Now, several years into this position, she is happy and thankful that her colleagues encouraged her to proceed in the organization. She enjoys networking with others and being a team player within her job.
Danielle offers the following words to those considering non-profit work: “There is no better feeling than to give an underprivileged child a computer and internet access for a year, or a disabled person an electric wheelchair that they otherwise could not buy. Working for a non-profit, the focus is to help others and make a difference in someone’s life. In this part of the business market, you need to have a passion for helping others and a willingness to go the extra mile to make a difference in someone’s life.”
Outside of the office, Danielle is married and a proud mother of two kids. Coming from a less privileged background, she tries to teach her children to be thoughtful: give back to those less fortunate, respect others, and to make a difference in someone’s life. She applies these same lessons to her work, where she enjoys reaching out to and helping others whenever possible.
About the contributor: Jeremy Hofer is the Community Impact intern at UWBucks for the summer. He will be a second year nursing major at Temple University this fall. This summer, he is excited to learn more about Bucks County through assisting in UWBucks’ Needs Assessment process, and to take skills learned during this time into a future career.