Jan 03
Oct 25
Springwell Needs Home-Delivered Meals Drivers
What does a warm, nutritious meal mean to you? It makes your taste buds happy, fills your growling stomach and may be a time when you gather with family or friends to socialize around the table. As children, many of us thought these meals magically appeared but as adults we know the work that goes [...]Oct 14
Volunteer Spotlight for Residents’ Rights Month
October is Residents Rights Month. Springwell's volunteer ombudsmen make a difference in the lives of residents of long term care facilities. Ombudsmen are highly trained and supervised volunteers who visit a residential facility at least weekly and are available to hear concerns in confidence, advocate to protect residents’ rights, and provide information and referrals. As [...]May 05
Xaverian Brothers High School students brighten days as Home Delivered Meals Drivers
Finn, Kyle, and Thomas have had a very different senior year of high school than they were expecting due to the COVID19 pandemic. Almost every senior activity and event has been cancelled and school has been a mixed bag of in person and remote learning. One silver lining in a difficult year for these young […]
May 01
A Year of Volunteer Meal Deliveries
Springwell’s Home Delivered Meals program faced severe staffing challenges when employment programs closed under the emergency order in March 2020. People like Eugenie Coakley swiftly answered Springwell’s call for volunteer drivers one year ago and have kept the home-delivered meal program on the road ever since. We asked Eugenie about her experiences. “People always appreciate [...]Apr 22
Helping People is my Focus
Adele is a long time, volunteer member of the compassionate Springwell team dedicated to ensuring that older adults in our community get the help and support they need and want. She began her career doing clinical testing as a psychometrist at several universities in New England and at MA Mental Health. After earning a master’s [...]Jan 27
Isolation Compounding the Risks of Elder Abuse During the Pandemic
Since March of 2020 it has been necessary for older adults and other high-risk individuals to stay home as much as possible to avoid exposure to COVID19. While vital to their well-being, it is not without potential cost for those at risk for elder abuse. Victims may experience emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, financial exploitation, self-neglect, […]
Jul 13
Conversation with a Friendly Visitor is just a phone call away
Due to the risks of COVID19, seniors have never been more isolated, and need to hear that there are people in the community who care about them. To help keep everyone physically distanced yet socially connected, Springwell’s Friendly Visitor program has transitioned smoothly to tele-visits. When Zach Strecker learned about Springwell’s Friendly Visitor program, he [...]Jul 02
Friendly Visitors Transition to Calls
“It’s being a friend and making a difference in someone’s life,” says Paul Bemko when asked about being a volunteer in Springwell’s Friendly Visitor Program. Due to the risks of COVID19, seniors have never been more isolated, and need to hear that there are people in the community who care about them. To help keep [...]Jun 11
What a difference a volunteer makes!
In 2015 at age 52 Ann McWalter sustained a traumatic brain injury which ended her career as a physical therapist overnight. “I wanted to be a physical therapist since I was 14. My career gave me a sense of identity, purpose and meaning. I loved the challenge of figuring out how to help people with […]