St. John’s Hopes to Recruit New Volunteers to Support Resident Engagement

Volunteers have always been an important part of the St. John’s organization. “We love having the volunteers come in,” says St. John’s Foundation Executive Director Anne Mc Kenna.  She points out that volunteers assist with transporting skilled nursing residents to events, concerts, spiritual services, and other engagement opportunities. Some volunteers simply come in to visit with residents and often build meaningful relationships along the way with those they meet with regularly.  “Our residents look forward to seeing them each week. It means the world to us,” says Mc Kenna.

Patty Paterson started volunteering at St. John’s Home soon after New York State visitor restrictions were loosened last spring, allowing us to reopen our doors to those looking to contribute their time and talents. “It makes me feel happy,” Patty told WROC-TV about her volunteer experience last week. “I come home and talk about them (the residents she supports) all the time because I love them.” Patty added that she gets the most satisfaction seeing those residents express their happiness and contentment in her presence. “When I see them smile, it just brings a lot of joy to me,” she said.

St. John’s is hoping to recruit additional volunteers to help support residents and social programming as more and more opportunities for engagement open up this spring. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, click here and let us know.

April is National Volunteer Awareness Month.