Having lived all of my life in a small town environment before coming to Toronto, I looked to St. Christopher House as a way to connect with my new community. I chose to volunteer with the Friendly Visiting program because I dearly missed my ‘adopted’ grandmother back home and had a sneaking suspicion that I might want peruse a career working with older people in this next phase of my life.

St. Christopher house gave me the opportunity to explore my interest in working as a helping professional before taking the next step and returning to school. I was able to enter into Sheridan’s Social Service Worker – Gerontology program with confidence, because my volunteer work with St. Christopher house allowed me to understand just how rewarding a career working with older people could be for me.

My ongoing relationship with my friend Christine has been a wonderful gift in my life. We have so much fun on our weekly trips to Dufferin mall where we spend time shopping; sometimes for clothes (Christine has such a great sense of style!) as well as groceries. We spend much of the time catching up on the week’s events. I’ll tell her about my latest school project and she tells me all about the project she is working on with the girls at St. Chris’ Seniors’ Day Program. When our shopping is finished we look forward to seeing Danny who picks us up from the mall in the St. Chris van. We laugh our way home sharing stories and catching up with each other. When I leave Christine’s apartment I feel like I’ve been filled up with joy. I am so lucky to have met this vibrant and loving woman.

Volunteering is an amazing way to enhance your quality of life while you strive to enhance the quality of life for others. I believe that this reciprocal relationship is essential for building and maintaining healthy and culturally rich communities. As I continue my work at St. Chris, I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to share in the success of my community. Thank you St. Christopher House!