Raffles, Refreshments, and Rallying

    On February 11 the Kendal Institute for Community Engagement held its second event of 2015, a rally for the distribution of information about social service opportunities in Licking County. It was attended by forty-six persons and regarded as a grand success. The speakers represented organizations that address in various ways the needs of many of the vulnerable residents of the county – the old and young, the hungry and homeless, the disabled and abused, the diseased in mind or body.

    This point about the range of problems addressed is perhaps best driven home by citing the agencies that were present: the Center for New Beginnings, the Center for Disability Services, the Food Pantry of Licking County, the Licking County Aging Program, the Licking County United Way, Mental Health of America of Licking County, the Salvation Army, and the YES Club Youth Organization. 

    While many residents were aware of the work of some of these groups, fewer had seen or thought about the spectrum of needs that confront the agencies whose task is to provide assistance – needs that almost crush the daily lives of many of our neighbors in the county.  As one representative said, our aim is to help those who are struggling, and our motto is “I see you; I’m here for you.” And more to the point, few residents had realized the range of volunteer opportunities that lay before anybody who was looking for a constructive way to engage in the social service work of the county community. “Volunteers,” we were reminded, “aren’t paid. Why? Because they’re priceless.”

    When the brief talks were over, residents were invited to visit the various stations that the agencies had set up around the Amelia Room. At these booths they could study posters about the work of the various agencies, pick up hand-outs about volunteer opportunities, and pose questions to the representatives. Meanwhile, refreshments were steadily available, and before the rally ended a raffle identified the winners of gifts from three sponsoring local businesses: Goumas Candy, New Day Spa, and Palumbo’s Italian Market.

    It is not hard to see why so many residents found the rally rewarding. It offered a rich combination of useful information, food, an opportunity for social engagement, and the fun of a raffle. Thanks go to the two super-organizers, Janie Drake and Susan Richardson, for all their work in staging this event.

    The next Kendal Institute occasion will focus on opportunities for engaging with artistic organizations in the county, and it will occur over several days in the second week of March, the 9th through the 13th. More news coming. Mark your calendars.
   

Thank Goodness for Housekeepers

In June 2015 we will celebrate the tenth anniversary of the opening of this community.  As we do so I like many others have been looking back at all that transpired during that ten year period.  In preparation for writing this blog I looked back to see what topics I have written about since I began blogging in September 2010.

My review indicated that generally my topics were related to events and facets of life here which have made me appreciate my life here at Kendal at Granville.  Very often I have written about one or another of our staff groups who do so much to make life better for all of us who live here.  Reflecting on the ones I chose to blog about I found that for some inexplicable reason I never mentioned one of my favorite staff departments, namely housekeeping. 

Our housekeepers are invaluable because they keep things clean and orderly in both our individual residences and our common areas.  I shudder to think about how those areas would appear without their daily attention to large and small details there.

Every other week they clean our residences.  For those assigned to go to the cottages and villas this means going outside in all seasons  and all kinds of weather, not a fun thing to do in the heat of a hot summer day, nor on a rainy day, or a snowy wintry day.  Of course   they have big carts to push around with their basic cleaning supplies!   

Housekeepers are required to do a lot of things most of us would just as soon not do such as clean toilets.  In addition to this drawback there is the fact that most housekeeping tasks tend to be tiresome because they have to be done over and over and over again.  Yet I don’t hear any of our housekeepers complaining about having to do all of the routine tasks that are a part of their daily life.

In spite of the many challenges of their jobsI have found them to be consistently courteous, considerate, and pleasant.  They go about their duties quietly and efficiently.

For the most part their labors go unsung and unheralded so for my part I hereby take my hat off to them and thank them from my heart for all they do to make me glad I  came to live at Kendal at Granville ten years ago.

Addendum:  After posting this blog a fellow resident who read it wrote me a note about it which included the comments which I would like to add to mine.  “My wife and I feel particularly warm about our housekeeping staff for they are some of the nicest people, we as residents, in a building that is filled with nice people.  I am glad you focused on them.”