Helping others is more than a job for Victoria Wenick — it’s her calling.

After joining the staff of Mercer Island’s Covenant Living at the Shores in November of 2020, the director of philanthropy has made a major impact by raising more than $300,000 through donations for benevolent care for senior residents. That robust amount raised in her first year is 50 percent more than the previous year’s total.

For her performance, Wenick has earned “Rising Star” status in the Women of Distinction awards in a joint program by the national senior living trade publications McKnight’s Long Term Care News and McKnight’s Senior Living.

After learning that her boss, Liam Dunfey, nominated her for the honor and after the McKnight editor called to confirm that she received the award, “I was super excited, I didn’t expect it at all.”

Wenick said it’s an honor to be recognized as a “Rising Star” and she’ll attend an awards celebration in Chicago on May 12.

“Victoria Wenick is a strong leader on the Covenant Living philanthropy team and on her campus at Covenant Living at the Shores,” said Dunfey, regional director of philanthropy. “The people she cultivates become donors who make joyful gifts to support our mission. We are so fortunate to have her and look forward to her continued success.”

Shores Executive Director Dan Scansen praised Wenick for her enthusiasm, fundraising expertise and leadership and said those qualities have resonated with the local Covenant Living community and others in the western region of the country.

Wenick, who hails from Tennessee and spent the previous seven years before joining the Shores as the senior campaign manager at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, said she has a passion for helping seniors.

“I’m inspired every day by the residents and my coworkers, and I even told my boss, ‘I’m accepting this award on behalf of everyone at Covenant Living.’ We all work really hard to take care of our residents, make sure they’re happy, make sure they have a good quality of life. It’s a wonderful team atmosphere,” she said.

Through her fundraising, she’s developed vital relationships with the Shores staff plus businesses, vendors, sponsors and family members. Wenick said everyone she’s connected with has displayed generosity toward her mission of helping others.

Growing up in a Christian household, her mother taught her to always help their neighbors.

“That has just always been part of my life. That’s just part of who I am,” said Wenick, adding that each day she asks herself, “‘What can I do to help instill joy and help our residents today?’ Really, that’s why I’m here.”