November Volunteer of the Month: Suzanne M.

November 3, 2015

Our amazing volunteer for the month of November is Suzanne M.! Congratulations!

Suzanne has been volunteering with us since December of 2014 and we are very grateful to have her. Her sweet, caring nature, and the great amount of value she places on and puts into her work are just a small part of what makes her such an amazing addition to our organization.

Just to start off, what gets you out of bed in the morning?

Well, on a joking note, I’m pretty sure I’d get fired if I didn’t show up for work. But in all seriousness, I get out of bed in the morning because life is a gift, and one that doesn’t last that long, and some people don’t get to live theirs so I’m sure as hell going to live mine.

Tell me more about your role as a volunteer.

I’m a Friendly Visitor, so I go visit two LGBTQ seniors in assisted living homes. These are one-to-one visits where I do everything from just talking with them and hearing about their day to participating in the activities they have at the centre with them. I actually stumbled upon this position, and while I didn’t know exactly what that was it sounded okay so I signed up, and when I went for the interview I just knew this was for me.

What is your favourite thing about volunteering?

I think that would be the people. They’re all really fun, very nice. Even if you’re not the best at communicating they will come over and talk to you or merge you into their conversations. Everyone’s very accepting and kind.

What is one thing about yourself that you hope never changes?

I like the fact that I’m very empathetic, caring, and compassionate.

If you had to be reincarnated as someone famous, who would you choose and why?

This is kind of difficult, because a lot of the historical people we tend to admire have said or done things that aren’t really acceptable anymore. I would say one of Canada’s famous suffragettes. I was reading some of the things this person had written when she was campaigning for women’s rights, and they were all clear and logical arguments that could easily be understood both then and now. I don’t agree with some of the other ideas she espoused, but I admire her passion for women’s rights, especially for getting women the vote and showing the world that women weren’t just for looking after the home but are living, breathing human beings and a caring part of the community.

Thank you, Suzanne, for the kindness and friendship you show our community elders as part of your work with the Friendly Visitor program, we hope you know how much it means to us and to them!