Volunteers Make a Difference for Valley Care

Volunteers from local and out-of-state church groups made it their mission this summer to share the love of Christ through serving elders at both Valley Care Adult Day Services locations.

Valley Care gives seniors living at home the opportunity to spend purposeful days among friends.

All participants are encouraged to engage in thoughtfully planned activities within the Valley Care facilities so that every day is an adventure.

Most of the Valley Care work this summer took place with the goal of encouraging participants to get more involved in outdoor activities.

Chris Briggs, team leader at Catholic Heart Work Camp based in Winter Springs, Fla., directed the efforts of his youth team at Valley Care Adult Day Services in Moon Township, Pa.

“Some of the things we’ve been working on are washing windows, deconstructing rotting picnic tables and working one-on-one with a lot of the people here,” Briggs said. “It’s just nice to go somewhere different and help out.”

About 20 minutes away from Moon Township, Valley Care Adult Day Services in Ambridge, Pa., received some major patio upgrades as well.

Terry Goodwald, agriculture and environmental volunteer from House of Prayer Lutheran Church, worked to plant a variety of herbs, tomatoes and zucchini for the program participants. With the help of several other volunteers, an overgrown tree was cut down and the patio was mulched to perfection.

“My mother actually had dementia before she passed,” Goodwald said. “So, I know what a lot of these individuals are going through.” If I can walk away knowing that I did something to bring joy to these people’s lives, then that makes me very happy, Goodwald said.

Stephanie Murdoch, marketing coordinator at Valley Care Adult Day Services, has seen firsthand not only what the outdoor upgrades have done for each facility, but how the improvements have directly impacted Valley Care participants.

“It’s nice to see our participants get outside and enjoy the gardens,” Murdoch said. “They really enjoy digging around in the soil and picking the weeds. It also gives people from the outside looking in a great opportunity to see everything that’s available to our participants at Valley Care.