The Peters Township Source

For many senior citizens, volunteering is a way to make a difference in the community as they experience a new stage of life. For the volunteer programs in which they serve, they are the lifeblood of the organization.

The South Hills offers plenty of volunteering opportunities, and with the flexibility to contribute more time than many others in the community, senior citizens are often among the first to step forward. “We really have a great volunteer program here,” says Georgianne Williams, Director of Volunteers with Canonsburg Hospital. “We have more than 425 senior volunteers who together have contributed over 90,000 hours of volunteer work to the hospital and have saved the hospital more than $800,000 over the years.”

Another area hospital, Washington Hospital, has more than 350 volunteers in 40 departments of the hospital – of which more than 250 are seniors. Kathy Michalovicz is Director of Volunteer Services with the hospital and President of the Western Chapter of the Society of Directors of Volunteer Services of Pennsylvania. She has served with the hospital for 10 years.

“We have a lot of people who come to us to volunteer after the death of a spouse,” she says. “Their world has collapsed, and they find people here who are caring and nurturing and understand what they’re going through; they find a community here.”

At the Canonsburg Senior Center, Washington resident, Sandra Debout, 64, has volunteered for three years. “We have sewing and craftmaking, the seniors play card games and bingo and we try to hold dances a few times a year,” she says. “The meals are delicious, and everyone seems to help everyone else.”

Geri Dire is director of the day program at the center. “We typically have about 50 seniors volunteering each month, serving hot meals every day,” she says. “Our volunteers serve about 1,000 hours a month and there are so many activities that people can be a part of, we’re always looking for people to help out.”

Mt. Lebanon resident, Paul Fahringer, 78, volunteers his time in a rather unique way; he installs Lifeline medical alert systems in seniors’ homes so that they can live alone with additional safety. “It’s really a simple procedure. You hook it into the telephone, the system responds when the person pushes a button alerting the fire department, police and ambulance as well as those people who are close to the person,” he says. “You meet so many nice people and it’s a great joy to help them live on their own, and stay out of a nursing home longer than they could otherwise. They are always so thankful.”

About 350 area seniors are served locally by the Lifeline system, Paul says.

Hospitals have long been a popular choice for senior volunteers. Jenny Cochran, 74, of Mt. Lebanon, has served at St. Clair Hospital as a patient escort, transporting patients throughout the hospital since 1980. “I’ve always felt it was one of the most worthwhile activities I’ve ever undertaken, just being there to give a smile or a kind word of encouragement and help people to know they’re not alone with what they’re going through,” Jenny says.

Mary Blume, 78, a resident of Bethel Park, has contributed some 25,000 hours in the course of her time as a volunteer in the hospital’s gift shop. “After my children were out of the house, and I found myself home alone, I called St. Clair hospital. I wanted to do something worthwhile,” she says.

Starting her volunteer work in the hospital’s gift shop - after 38 years of service - Mary still spends her free moments there. “More than anything, it’s been the people I’ve met through volunteering that mean the most. They’re my closest friends; the hospital has become like my adopted family,” she says.

As a volunteer with Washington Hospital, Myrtle Fischer, 86, serves as a buyer of clothes for infants and flowers at the hospital. Starting in 1960, Myrtle has been a volunteer for 48 years - at times also working in the emergency room as a liaison between the nursing staff and patient families.

“The most precious part of volunteering has been the friends I’ve made. I can’t imagine my life had I not become a volunteer, it’s meant a great deal to me,” she says.

Myrtle says she likes to think she’s gotten much more out of the experience than the people she’s helped. “It’s just such a great feeling to have people come up and thank you for doing something that you really enjoy so much. It makes life worthwhile, to be appreciated. The feeling you get when you’ve helped someone, no matter how simple the act, is so rewarding,” she says.