Mike Wagner, Home Visitor Program, volunteer
Mike Wagner of Perkinsville began volunteering with Senior Solutions’ Home Visitor Program in the spring of 2021. For the most part, he helps with transportation requests for grocery shopping and medical appointments.
“Overall, I’m blessed,” he says. “I feel good about my life, and I have the time to volunteer. I do so for that reason. I also feel a sense of satisfaction when I help someone.”
Patti Crimmin-Greenan, who spearheads Senior Solutions’ Errands Program says, “Mike is a gem. Sometimes I feel like I have given him really tough assignments. Once I asked him to make a trip from Ascutney to Springfield to pick up a lady who needed to go shopping for specialized orthopedic shoes in Lebanon. When they got to the store, they found out it was closed. Mike salvaged the trip by taking the woman out to lunch. “Another time,” Patti recalls, “he picked up a woman from North Pomfret and took her shopping in West Lebanon where they made many stops. The round-trip excursion took four hours. No assignment is too much for Mike. He is always so patient and accommodating.”
Mike also has been doing respite care for a couple during the past five months. One of them has dementia. He helps the man’s wife stay abreast of their paperwork and paying their bills, which were piling up before he arrived. He also helped the wife think through which medications she needed to have refilled, and made a plan to go to the pharmacy and get them. Mike says he really doesn’t know how the couple would cope without his help and the assistance of their Case Manager at Senior Solutions.
“Volunteering with Senior Solutions been a really good experience for me,” Mike said. “It’s a really great organization, and I enjoy working with the Home Visitor Program staff. I know what we do is having a positive impact on people’s lives. I feel really good about that.”
If you would like to explore being one of our Volunteers, please read more here about directly helping our older Vermonters.
