OMNI homes give thanks to volunteers
OMNI homes gave thanks in April to some of their most valued team members – volunteers.

National Volunteer Week was held April 15 to 21. In the spirit of the week, OMNI’s 16 long-term care homes honoured their volunteers with dinners, parties, open houses and presenting volunteers with achievement awards.

OMNI volunteers range from students to seniors. They represent different walks of life. Some volunteer every day, some volunteer once a month. But the one thing they all have in common is their desire to make a difference if the lives of residents in long-term care.

Volunteers are especially helpful to OMNI’s life-enrichment staff. Life enrichment co-ordinators (LECs) create and oversee programs for residents. They also organize resident outings. Volunteer work includes helping LECs with their itineraries, such as music activities, bingos and outings. They spend time chatting with residents and getting to know them. They help with meals and read to residents.

In some cases, OMNI’s volunteers come from within the homes. Philip McHale and Sadie Perfitt are residents of Garden Terrace in Kanata. They also volunteer at the home.

McHale says he’s glad the home includes residents on its volunteer roster. McHale says his status as a resident helps him with his role as a volunteer. Camaraderie exists between him and other residents, he says.

“There is a connection there,” says McHale. “It’s a great idea.”

Sylvia Roetman, life enrichment co-ordinator at Village Green, says volunteers are an important part of the team at the Selby long-term care home.

“There are never enough volunteers,” says Roetman. “We need volunteers all the time.”

As a society, many people in the workforce have less free time. As a result, OMNI relies heavily on retired seniors to fill the need for volunteers in its homes. An important step towards attracting volunteers is sending the message that volunteering greatly improves the lives of residents in long-term care, says one Village Green volunteer.

“You have to impress upon them that we’re there to make people’s lives a little bit better,” says Jeanne Irvine.

For more information on how to volunteer at an OMNI home, contact the head office at (705) 748-6631.