Esther B, December 2020 Volunteer Spotlight

After reading about a request for Volunteers at Faith in Action in our church bulletin about nine years ago, I attended an orientation meeting where Linda B. explained the program of pairing Volunteers with Care Receivers for Friendly Visits and Phone Calls. Sandy H. had been coordinating this along with her other volunteer work with FIA and was a great resource for me when I decided this would be a good way to begin volunteering with FIA. I’ve also visited and phoned several Care Receivers. I try to match Volunteers with Care Receivers who have similar interests, hobbies, etc. so they have material for great conversations. It is wonderful to hear about friendships developing between the Volunteers and the Care Receivers.

    The FIA Volunteers are such a blessing to the Care Receivers—especially during this pandemic. Volunteers have been making extra phone calls, sending uplifting cards, delivering food from their gardens and home-made meals and baked goods, having socially distanced porch visits and picnics, sewing masks (and a quilt!), etc.

    I enjoy visiting the library and reading. My husband and I also garden (vegetable and native prairie plants). We always take our bicycles with us on vacations. Most of all, we enjoy riding with our daughters who live in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Since our travel has been curtailed during this pandemic, we made some day trips to explore closer-to-home trails—we love riding along the Mississippi River!

“Be kind to everyone”