Volunteer Spotlight: Loraine Stear

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Name: Loraine Stear

How long have you been a volunteer? 10 years

 What areas do you work in/what sort of tasks do you do as a volunteer? The primary area where I work is in the bereavement department by visiting patient families at funeral homes, but I have also helped with mailings, memorial services, the adult holiday workshop, and Tree of Life.

Loraine regularly makes visits to families of Angela 
Hospice patients on behalf of the bereavement 
department.
What made you decide to become a volunteer? I worked as a psychiatric social worker for about 30 years before two hospital mental health units and an emergency crisis center closed due to budget cuts. When the crisis center where I last worked closed, I decided to find other areas where I could use my skills and continue to help others. Volunteering had been on the back burner until retirement but became a way of life due to other circumstances!

Why Angela Hospice? I relocated from downtown to Livonia (where I lived for five years) so it was convenient at that time but, more importantly, I personally experienced what a blessing Angela Hospice can be. My father was in the Care Center in 1995, and my mother was in home care with me as her caregiver in 2004.

What is your favorite part about volunteering? Meeting people, listening to their stories, and feeling that I’m contributing in some way. Also, the camaraderie of other volunteers.

Lauren Tschirhart (right) often calls on Loraine
to help with mailings and events.
What is one of your favorite stories or memories from volunteering? My favorite memories are from the Tree of Life where I volunteer for four or five shifts each year...sharing their smiles, tears, and memories. I especially remember the young mother who came with her two little children to place an angel on the tree for their father and asked me to take a photo, and the little boy who put his pennies on the table to make an angel for his grandmother.

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