This year, Bill celebrates five years of volunteering with Lutherwood.
Six months after retiring from a small firm in Waterloo, Bill reached out to Lutherwood. Like so many in retirement, his life had changed. While he was active in his church choir, as a backup organist, and helping young refugees and immigrants learn to speak and read English, he still wanted to do more in his community with his spare time.
Using his data entry skills, Bill began volunteering for the Lutherwood Child and Family Foundation. As his interest in its work grew, it wasn’t long before Bill began helping with math during the school day at Lutherwood’s Children’s Mental Health Centre. Sadly, once the pandemic hit, his volunteer experience changed.
The school was temporarily closed and the work with the students stopped. His work at the Foundation went virtual instead of face-to-face meetings like before. “This change took some adjusting to, but the Foundation really made me feel like I was one of their own, and this made the transition a lot easier,” he added.
Lutherwood is deeply grateful for Bill’s volunteering with the Foundation team. As Mary-Jo, Manager of Donor Development for Lutherwood Child and Family Foundation explains, “we are so fortunate to have Bill as a volunteer in the Foundation. He helps to ensure our data integrity through some of his weekly tasks.”
During the pandemic, Bill keeps active by taking long walks and staying positive. He also sees his remote work with the Foundation as a very positive experience. “Not only am I learning new skills, but volunteering is giving me purpose during these challenging times,” Bill shared. He is happy to help where he can and always does it with a smile on his face.
“While I’m happy to be making a difference from my home, I’m really looking forward to getting back into the office and interacting with people,” he concluded.