“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Mahatma Gandhi.
Every third week in April is National Volunteer Week, a time to celebrate and show appreciation for the people who selflessly give their time and energy to help others.
At Phoebe Ministries, we are honored to work with hundreds of amazing volunteers every year. From assisting with large-scale events like the Phoebe Golf Tournament to the everyday activities that positively affect the lives of our residents, our volunteers are a vital part of our organization.
John Loomis has been assisting with physical therapy services at Phoebe Berks for over nine years and is one such individual. He lends a valuable hand by repairing wheelchairs, transporting residents, and organizing supplies. Beyond these responsibilities, Loomis is happy to support Phoebe staff wherever needed.
“Sometimes I’ll help them with simply catching a ball,” says Loomis. While not a physical therapist himself, he helps engage residents with vital physical activity to promote their mobility and recovery.
Over the course of his volunteer work, Loomis has discovered just how much of a team effort it is to take care of such a large group of older adults,
“At the physical therapy room, a lot of times it takes three people to get a patient up and walking around a little bit. Normally, we’ll follow closely behind with the wheelchair because some residents can’t walk as well.”
Loomis takes great pride in his work and urges everybody to give volunteering a try.
“You’ll lift other people up just by talking to them,” says Loomis. He finds volunteering to be a very cathartic experience.
Another volunteer at Phoebe Berks, resident Ruth Gerhard, moved to Phoebe in 2011 and has been helping since before the COVID-19 pandemic. While her husband was in the health care center, she would transport him and other residents to bingo and other activities. Also at bingo, Gerhard would assist her peers in finding and repeating the numbers called.
Gerhard echoes Loomis’s sentiment on volunteering being a fulfilling experience, stating, “You get so much joy and appreciation from it. It makes me feel good to take somebody somewhere and just talk to them.”
Over at Phoebe Allentown, volunteer Marion O’Neil has been lending her time for an impressive 20 years.
O’Neil first considered volunteering at Phoebe when her friend, also a Phoebe volunteer, recommended that she start. O’Neil had retired from her customer service job to take care of her mother, teaching her the importance of being present in the lives of loved ones. She witnessed firsthand the impact of being there for those in their old age or with deteriorating health.
Since that experience, O’Neil has felt an insatiable need to help others. Her volunteer work at Phoebe began with interacting with residents, but she has evolved into a regular face of Miller Personal Care.
O’Neil’s Mondays are dedicated to Phoebe. She comes in at 10 a.m. and leaves around 4 p.m. All the while, she sets up and tears down various games, most notably bingo and Scrabble. She has a committed group of Scrabble players she looks forward to seeing weekly.
O’Neil has made many connections and friends since volunteering at Phoebe. She particularly enjoys conversing with residents and learning about their lives.
What has kept O’Neil coming back to volunteer all of these years? Her simple passion for volunteering.
“I like giving myself to other people,” says O’Neil. “I totally enjoy coming here.”
Volunteers like O’Neil offer our residents new levels of socialization and connection. Not only do they help with the logistics of everyday activities, but they often result in friendships. This is particularly impactful for residents who may not live close to their family.
At Phoebe, we love giving back to our volunteers. On Tuesday, April 22, Phoebe Richland celebrated its volunteers with a gratitude reception. Volunteers from rehabilitation to community life attended the event.
Certificates and gift baskets were presented to each volunteer, providing a moment of thanks to some of the most selfless people in our community. A large cake and other treats were also brought as a token of appreciation.
Other Phoebe campuses also hosted appreciation events throughout the month.
Even though we can’t fit every volunteer into one article, we thank those mentioned and everyone who has given their time to Phoebe for their commitment to our residents. Your help ensures that our senior community gets the utmost care they deserve.
There are many opportunities to give back to our aging community. To learn more about volunteering at Phoebe, please visit phoebe.org/volunteer.
Written by Dominic Trabosci & Alan Raisman