Day Programs Celebrate Volunteers

Kim J. is happy to help serve meals at the Methodist Soup Kitchen in Geneva.

Many members of Ontario ARC’s Day Programs are well-known to community groups for their commitment to volunteerism. To celebrate, a Volunteer Appreciation Party was held this winter at Phelps Community Center. Everyone shared in the fun, lifting up one another with music, singing, dancing, and relaxing with an ice cream social and holiday crafts. It was a wonderful way to honor one another for the over 3,300 hours per year that the members of our Day Programs spend volunteering. They donate their time and skills to more than a dozen local nonprofits that support people in need.

For nearly 10 years, the volunteers have assisted on 15 Meals on Wheels delivery routes, and most recently began volunteering at Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore in Canandaigua. They support our oldest and youngest community members, lending a hand in activities and crafts with seniors residing at the M.M. Ewing Continuing Care Center, Ontario Center, and Vienna Gardens, and with children at the Canandaigua Early Childhood Center and FLCC Child Care Center.

Volunteers also bake for the Gleaner’s Community Kitchen, set up for meals at the Methodist Soup Kitchen in Geneva, and are outdoors assisting Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program and sprucing up Sonnenberg Gardens during the spring and summer months.

One hundred individuals volunteer about 65 hours each week, in keeping with the Day Program’s mission to learn about, engage with, and give back to their communities. They enjoy sharing their time and talents, and some members use volunteer opportunities to work toward personal goals such as developing their interests or practicing being prepared and organized.

“The volunteers love to share their time and their passions,” says Michelle Jungermann, Director of Employment and Meaningful Activities. “They build connections with each other while demonstrating that people of all abilities are committed to giving back to their communities.”