Ed and Barb Lavin
Retirement is a special and beautiful stage of life when we can choose which activities are the most meaningful to us. We all need to have a purpose in life, and we at Caring Friends have found our purpose. Caring Friends is a large group of volunteers who volunteer at New Life Center (NLC), a shelter for women, children, and sometimes men escaping domestic violence. About 15 years ago, a group of us toured New Life Center and knew that we could make a difference in many lives by getting involved. We began to recruit our friends and neighbors and had about 100 volunteers helping out in many ways. Then the pandemic hit and everything stopped. We missed our involvement at New Life Center and began “Friday Deliveries.” Every Friday we pack up our SUVs with new donated items and deliver them to the shelter. This has been a huge help to NLC and helped us stay involved. In the 2-1/2 years since the pandemic began, there have been many changes in our community. Many of our volunteers have left us either through illness, death, or relocating. So now we need to recruit and rebuild!
Are you interested in volunteering? Please mark your calendars for Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 6 p.m. at the Palm Room at Eagle’s Nest. The New Life Center Community Development Team will be there to tell you more about the activities at New Life Center and ways in which you can become involved. Many of our Caring Friends volunteers will be there as well to answer your questions and tell you about our love of involvement at New Life Center. If you can RSVP to us with your reservation, it will help us to provide adequate seating. Email us at [email protected].