This past spring, we celebrated longtime volunteer David Prosser and his 30+ years of service with Chrysalis.
Over the years, David has been a critical partner and advocate to clients on their journeys toward stability and fulfillment in their work and lives. With a firm belief in Chrysalis’ mission, David has adapted with our organization over the years, wearing a variety of hats to support our work: promoting new initiatives, serving on the Board of Directors, facilitating staff trainings, and most recently, welcoming new clients at orientation. He was first connected to Chrysalis through his business community in Downtown LA.
“I was involved with an organization called the Downtown LA Breakfast Club. Every other meeting, we would have a speaker come in, and one day Karen [Baker] came in – she was the director of Chrysalis at the time,” David recalled. “Working downtown, [you could] see homelessness continue to grow and become a problem. And I was so impressed with what Chrysalis did. I called her that day and came down for a tour.”
Having spent his career leading sales and marketing in the office furniture industry, David leveraged his expertise to help promote Chrysalis’ emerging initiatives: “They were just starting Works [Chrysalis’ street maintenance employment social enterprise], and they didn’t have a sales plan for going about promoting it. It was a nice transition to help a little bit at that time. Then it proceeded from there.”
David’s involvement eventually evolved when he joined the Board of Directors, where he served for 15 years. During that period, he helped the organization navigate leadership transitions and expand office space at Chrysalis’ Downtown LA and San Fernando Valley centers. When he retired from his professional career, David stepped down from the Board but continued to be passionate about supporting Chrysalis clients.
He went on to become a program volunteer, facilitating new client orientation every week at the Downtown LA center: “My job was to introduce clients to Chrysalis and give them as much encouragement as I could that this program works and to stick with it.”
Across all of these roles, David has met hundreds of clients—learning about the obstacles they’re navigating and seeing them find success through Chrysalis’ job readiness program.
His biggest lesson? Perseverance.
“Every time I walk through this building and I see all of the people in the computer lab and the ones that I have in a class, I wonder, Could I have overcome the challenges they overcame to accomplish what they’ve accomplished?”
He shared that Chrysalis’ clients have broadened his understanding of the circumstances that unhoused and justice-impacted individuals are facing here in Los Angeles: “I didn’t realize the barriers that homeless people had getting into the job market. Hearing stories about drug use, alcoholism, losing their family… And then more recently, [Chrysalis has been serving more] people coming out incarceration. The things they’ve had to overcome are tremendous.”
David learned from clients he worked directly with in the classroom, as well as clients he met at Chrysalis events. One of his most memorable moments was at a book event that Chrysalis hosted. The author’s work resonated closely with the experiences of Chrysalis clients, one of whom was moved to share her journey with the group that day.
“She said the worst day of her life was when she lost her two daughters. The happiest day of her life was today when she got her daughters back. And then she brought them out to greet us,” David recalls. “It was unbelievable. It was so emotional.”
These powerful stories of transformation continuously renewed David’s commitment to volunteering at Chrysalis. That sense of service was also deeply rooted in the example set by his parents, who spent much of their lives volunteering in their own communities.
“From the time I could remember until she passed away, my mother volunteered for Easterseals. She was involved in that organization forever,” David remembered with a smile. “And every Christmastime, my parents would volunteer at retirement homes and help with Christmas decorations. Dad would say, ‘We’re going to help decorate the old people’s home.’ And I said, ‘Do you know, Dad, you were probably the oldest person in that home?’ And it’s true, but that’s what they did. They were always helping people. Maybe that was the start of it.”
He continued that legacy by encouraging his grandchildren to take on Chrysalis’ cause as well. When his teenage grandson started a nonprofit organization that distributed food and hygiene items, David told him, “Boy, do I have a place for you.”
These health bags featured essential items in handy backpacks, and David knew that clients would find both the bags themselves and the items inside useful. He connected his grandson’s efforts with Chrysalis, delivering about 50 of these health bags every month to the Downtown LA center. After his grandson graduated from high school, David’s granddaughter continued the effort—this time, with health bags tailored to women’s needs as well.
Across multiple Chrysalis eras and initiatives, David has truly had a ripple effect on our clients who are facing the greatest barriers to the workforce. His dedication has helped open doors to opportunity for countless individuals, and we are fortunate that he will continue to be part of the Chrysalis community.
As he moves on to a new chapter in his life, he encourages those considering volunteering to take on his charge.
“Do it. I got more out of Chrysalis than Chrysalis got out of me. As a volunteer here, you will really get a lot of satisfaction because day in and day out, you will see the results of what you do.”