From The Editor
Volunteer Month
I trust all of you safely weathered the recent storms that blew through our area. It is a not-so-subtle reminder that hurricane season is not the only time we should be concerned about the weather.
We were fortunate in our household; only two trees fell upon our rooftop. My wife and I cut up a good deal of the trees ourselves — from ground level and from atop our roof — saving for the professionals the delicate task of actually getting it off the house. Once the debris was gone from the roof I could more thoroughly inspect the damage: a few raggedy shingles but nothing too dramatic.
We are indeed fortunate to have been spared the kind of devastation experienced by our northern neighbors living in Lake City. We are also fortunate to be able to get up on the roof and do the work ourselves.
Friends volunteered to come help repair the roof should we need it, but luckily we won’t need to call upon their services at this time. A few years ago, when we were bombarded by all of those hurricanes, we lost our power for several days. Again, a friend volunteered to come to the rescue, delivering to our home a generator so our food would not spoil.
Again, we were blessed. Yes, we lost trees and shingles, and the kitchen flooring was ruined when the freezer defrosted, but if this was the worst we had to contend with I will gladly take it. And while I can’t be certain, I’m pretty sure that our friend was pleased about his good deed.
As it turns out, there are benefits in helping others. According to the U.S. Administration on Aging, people who volunteer are healthier. Studies show that Seniors who volunteer have fewer health problems than the Senior population in general. Volunteering helps Seniors stay physically active, which lowers the risk for heart disease, diabetes and other cardiovascular diseases. Volunteering also increases cognitive and mental well-being, which helps protect memory as people age.
April is Volunteer Month and Senior Times recently visited with some groups dedicated to helping others. Several years ago, Steve and Allison Blay founded Friends Across the Ages, an organization designed to bring volunteers into nursing homes to visit with residents, many of whom have no one in their lives. The Gainesville Woman’s Club in 1983 established the Nursing Home Volunteer Auxiliary and in 2002 this group merged with Friends Across the Ages to better serve the needs of nursing home residents.
Another organization, the Bread of the Mighty Food Bank, has been providing food to the needy in our community for many years. Crystal Henry writes about this volunteer-run organization that distributes nearly 2 million pounds of food each year to organizations that help the needy.
Groups such as these rely upon the many good people who volunteer their time and energy to a worthwhile cause. And I imagine those people feel pretty good about themselves.