What They Say about Volunteering

John Ross

The only thing that I do these days is to volunteer for, with, SOAR - Stimulating Opportunities After Retirement.  This is a group of volunteers who teach courses to retirees at SUCP and elsewhere in Potsdam and Canton.  This program is connected with
Elderhostel and the Department of Life Long Learning at Potsdam.  For $60 per year a person can take up to 35, more or less, courses per semester and have free access to the Potsdam College library and fitness center, and take SOAR sponsored trips to places like the theaters in Gananoque and the new museum in Tupper Lake - at added expense of course.  What do I do, I am on the Board of Directors, the Travel and performance Committee and the Finance and Administration Committee.  There are many other committees that always need members - curriculum, publicity, membership, registration, and nominating, plus the three I am on.  Before my vision went to pot I  was
also the treasurer.

If anyone wants information on the organization they can talk to me or to
Ruth Kreuzer, who is also on the Board and a couple of committees, or call
or write the office at

SOAR Office
P.O. Box 23
SUNY Potsdam

Lynn Ekfelt

Here are my volunteer activities:

Driving people to the doctor for the Office for the Aging:
The Office for the Aging provides rides to medical appointments for elderly people.  Some of our customers have given up their cars.  Others can't drive temporarily because of broken limbs or because they are visiting the eye doctor and can't drive themselves home after their pupils have been dialated.  Anyone can use the service; there's no income requirement. However, if a person IS able to pay a small amount per mile, s/he pays it directly to the Office for the Aging, who then pays us a flat rate per mile. Our donation is our time.  The Office calls us, usually a few days in advance to see if we're free to drive the customer.  If we are, we contact the person directly and make arrangements for time and place of pick up. It's a much-needed service here, where people often have to travel as far as Syracuse or Burlington to appointments.
Contact:  Peggy at Office for the Aging--386-4730.

Reading the local news for the InTouch Network at NCPR:
The station has a grant to purchase special boxes legally blind people can attach to their radios.  When the box is turned off, they get regular NCPR programming.  When it is turned on, they get the InTouch Network.  There volunteers (mainly from New York City, I think) read publications in one-hour segments--everything from Atlantic to Ladies Home Journal to the Wall Street Journal.  NCPR has preempted the 10-11 a.m. and the 4-5 p.m. slots on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays for their own volunteers to read the local news.  We read in the morning, recording as we go.  That tape is then played back in the afternoon.  Wednesday is the day for Canton/Potsdam news; Tuesday is Gouverneur and the river towns; Wednesday is Massena/Malone, and Friday is the Adirondacks.  Time committment:  we read for an hour, twice a month.  We also clip and edit our own news, which also takes time.  For example, I read and clip The Watertown Times, the Potsdam Courier and the St. Lawrence Plaindealer for the week preceeding the day I read.
Contact:  Kelly Jacoby (229-5313) or June Peoples (229-5356) at NCPR.

Helping a blind friend with whatever needs doing:
Several years ago, I asked at Partridge Knoll if there were any residents who needed help doing things because of visual or physical problems.  They put me in touch with a woman who was legally blind.  I took her shopping (Partridge Knoll has a van to take people to the store but no one to help them find things once they are in there), helped her make a big phone book, changed her clocks when the time changed, addressed her Christmas cards and wrapped her gifts, read her mail to her, etc.  She moved away to be near her daughter in Utah, and I found another legally blind woman through a personal contact with a friend.  I do similar things with her.  At the moment we are eagerly planning holiday baking sessions.  I don't know if there's anyone in need of such help at Partridge Knoll at the moment, but you could contact Cindy Lawrence, the director, at 379-1428.  Another approach which might work, would be to try the High Rise on Riverside or to call the folks who serve the visually impaired.  I think their office is is Tupper Lake for this area.

Bob Matteson

I'm a volunteer member of the FODYLL Board and currently serve as Chairman. Most of our activities involve fund-raising -- i.e. writing letters of appeal and thanks, organizing occasional book-sales, managing a limited budget -- and we do what we can to support purchases for the libraries, schedule speakers, publish a Bulletin, and make annual awards to students. We would like to have more regular, contributing members of the Friends
than is currently the case, particularly faculty members both active and retired. Also I'd like to know of anyone who might be interested in serving on the Board (which meets about four times per year). Currently we have a full complement, but people sometimes resign and need to be replaced. Anyone interested could write to me (<rmatteson@stlawu.edu>) or Darlene Leonard (<dleonard@stlawu.edu>), who serves as our secretary.

Carol Linn

I have worked with the FREE WILL DINNERS for five years at the Canton United Methodist Church.  We serve three meals a month and in those years have served over 25,000 meals.  I have also volunteered with Habitat being in charge of meals for the workers.  That has involved many vendors in Canton including, Stewarts, Burger King, McDonalds, McCarthy's and Pand C.