Isabel Shelatz is 17 years old and in her senior year at Conneaut Area Senior High. After graduation, she plans to attend Rochester Institute of Technology to major in Environmental Science with a public policy concentration. Like a lot of high school students, Isabel also has a job, but when she started applying to various colleges, she saw that volunteering for an area organization could be a great opportunity to enhance her resume, apply for scholarships, and stand out among other students. When she chose to contact Wesbury, Isabel says, “All I really knew was that Wesbury was a nursing home and my mom said she saw that they were looking for volunteers.” As she began volunteering, she quickly saw that there was more to it than just building up the hours.

At Wesbury, Isabel helped in transporting residents around the facilities, assisting with activities, and supporting Wesbury’s stylists in the Grace Rehabilitation and Health Center and Cribbs Residential Center Beauty Salons by doing small jobs and organizing the products and equipment. Her favorite part is being able to talk to the regulars at the beauty salons and bonding with the residents. In fact, she enjoyed her time at Wesbury so much that when her 100 hours were completed, she continued to volunteer through the end of the summer.

When asked if she feels rewarded by the volunteer work she does, Isabel says, “I definitely think that volunteering was a rewarding opportunity because I feel as if these experiences in the workforce and with a variety of people from multiple generations will have a lifelong impact on my life. I believe that volunteering has helped me overcome my nervousness with interacting with others, especially with seniors, since I never had the opportunity to do so before.”

If you are considering volunteering, we would love to meet with you, and if you are a former Wesbury volunteer, we would love to see you back again. Your time, talents, and energy are valuable to us, but more importantly to Wesbury residents and their families. Some services would not be possible without the caring, giving, and sharing of our wonderful volunteers. In order to maintain quality volunteer services, Wesbury requires that all volunteers be at least 14 years of age (minors must have parental consent), fill out a volunteer application, and attend volunteer orientation and training.

To find out where you can help, phone Stacey Hoey, Volunteer Services Coordinator, at 814-332-9280 or by email at shoey@wesbury.com.