St. John’s Residents Value Opportunities to Serve Others

“Just about everyone around here that I know does a lot of volunteer work,” says St. John’s Meadows resident Pat Corcoran.

About two years ago when Corcoran was shopping around for independent living, she envisioned the lifestyle she currently enjoys at St. John’s Meadows. Corcoran spoke to the Rochester Business Journal about the importance of having access to volunteer opportunities in senior living communities. “I was active in the community already (before moving to independent living) and I wanted a place where I could continue doing the work that I’ve done for many years,” she told the RBJ’s Patti Singer. Corcoran still serves as the immediate past president of the Friends of Mount Hope not-for-profit organization. She also volunteers her time as a concierge at St. John’s Meadows as well as through in-house partnerships with Nazareth University and the Harley School.

St. John’s Vice President of Senior Housing Tony Zaccaglino acknowledges that there are plenty of residents like Corcoran who move to St. John’s communities with volunteer opportunities already in place. “Then, we have the residents who move here and they didn’t realize they could help out, even if it’s as simple as calling bingo numbers or helping out in our dining room,” Zaccaglino added. Altogether, around 140 residents at St. John’s Meadows and Brickstone by St. John’s volunteer around campus in some way.

“There are things that residents do completely on their own and advertise it themselves,” Zaccaglino said about the types of volunteer opportunities available to residents.  “There are other programs that we’ll help advertise to our residents.”

One of the resident-led efforts was a woodworking project to build desks for students outside the country. The woodworkers needed help sanding the desks, and they asked volunteer services to put out the word. The woodworkers also are building birdhouses that will go to the town of Brighton. –Rochester Business Journal, January 26

Read “Volunteering Provides Meaning and Purpose to Residents in Senior Communities”