September is Continuing Care Month in Nova Scotia. We’re profiling Red Crossers in recognition of all the great work they do in caring for people outside of a hospital setting.
There’s nothing more rewarding than feeling like as much as you give, you get it back tenfold. That’s exactly the impression Geraldine Sperry gives when she talks about her experience as a Red Cross volunteer in Amherst, Nova Scotia.
Geraldine Speery volunteers once a week at the Canadian Red Cross in Amherst, NS.
For the past five years, she’s volunteered once a week at the reception desk at her local Red Cross office. She answers the phone, greets visitors, accepts donations and helps with other tasks. But one of the most rewarding parts of her volunteer work is helping people get access to health equipment.
Having on two occasions used this service herself, once after breaking her leg and again when she had knee replacement surgery, she can personally vouch for the usefulness of the HELP program of the Canadian Red Cross. It’s a source of pride that the service is offered at no cost and funded through donations.
It’s thanks to the hard work of Geraldine and many other volunteers like her that this program is available to help people recovering from injuries, illnesses or surgery. They come to the Red Cross to borrow all kinds of items, from crutches and walkers to commodes and wheelchairs.
While Geraldine’s first experience with the Red Cross was in fact as a canvasser, it didn’t take long before she was encouraged to volunteer on a weekly basis. At first, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to contribute, but she quickly discovered that volunteering at the Red Cross isn’t so different from her previous work at the hospital: “I answer the phone, sign out the equipment and enter some information on the computer. It’s pretty easy.”
The reward for Geraldine is that volunteering allows her get out of the house and meet people from all over Cumberland County.