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Volunteer Profile

Barbara Schmid

What has volunteering meant to you?

It has allowed me to make a difference in someone's life. This volunteer work has meant a great deal to me as I am a “people person.”

My GrandFriend is very dear to me. He announced he was an atheist after about the first month I had been visiting him. Also, he stated that after attending Republican Party meetings, church, and college he found he understood very little of any of those activities.

What has it meant to my elder?

I know he looks forward to my visits. Once, after several months he remarked, “I never liked people much, but I sure am glad you kept coming Research shows that loneliness can lead to physical ailments and we often discussed his sleep patterns, aches and pains. I believe my GrandFriend found it comforting to know that I, too, sometimes woke in the night. He found support in our friendship.

Why would you recommend this volunteer work?

When situations feel stressful, my GrandFriend’s life helps me find gratitude for my own. My weekly visits keep my problems in their true perspective. He takes little for granted and is very grateful. By giving of myself, I feel God’s love is extended. People watch actions, not words. Recently, as I was ending our visit, my self-proclaimed atheist GrandFriend said, “God bless you.”

"That He will do."

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