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04/04/2018 08:30 AMCherie Strucaly was introduced to volunteering by her mother and grandmother as a child and now, the community service piece of her life is the one she is most passionate about. While her mother and grandmother volunteered at what Cherie said used to be called a “sanitarium for sick children,” she invests her time and efforts in a different capacity, still working with people.
“I was always drawn to working with seniors and giving individual support,” says Cherie, the volunteer program manager for the Agency on Aging, which offers benefits for people over 55 years.
“Volunteers offer companionship which sounds so ‘So what?’ but it’s huge regarding someone’s sense of belonging and involvement. Having a reason to get up, get dressed [is] all so positive for someone with a limited social circle,” she says.
Helping with things like getting to the doctors, shopping, and senior center activities is just the beginning of volunteer opportunities.
“Some help folks read their mail and pay their bills [or] help with applying for energy assistance and or food stamps,” she says. “They are incredible group of folks who I am honored to work with. There are many that go above and beyond with help and support.”
Cherie grew up in Chicago and moved to the area in her 20s. She worked in business, specifically in retail, but was never really satisfied by the work she was doing.
“It was a way to make a living,” she says. “It was alright.”
However, when a friend encouraged her to look for a position working with people with disabilities, things changed. She started at Easter Seals.
“They provide a day program for adults with disability,” says Cherie. “I started working there and worked there for 15 years and loved their senior program.”
She retired to become a caregiver for her father and eventually started part time at the Agency on Aging while she was caring for her father.
She worked full time for the agency and ran the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program—though its since revised the name, she says, since most people around the age of 55 don’t think of themselves as seniors.
Cherie has become a matchmaker for those who want to give support and those on the other end who are looking for it—that’s the part of her job that she loves the most, engaging with both sides.
“I not only get to meet these incredibly wonderful, generous people who are volunteering for either their communities or for others, but also these wonderful people who are committed to maintaining a life of independence on their own in their own homes, or living with their sons or daughters and during the day reaching out looking for companionship,” she says.
Part of the process, for Cherie, is to meet with every client. She spends time learning and understanding what expectations they need to have met.
“I get to know them beyond their issue and their needs, like who they are, where they grew up, how many children they have,” says Cherie.
She does the same thing when she meets with a volunteer, before they get started.
“When I meet one or the other, I have this sense about who might work well with them because of some of the similarities,” says Cherie. “I’ve just been really blessed in finding volunteers that connect with clients and are willing to support them in ways that is unbelievable in some instances.”
People are willing to go above and beyond for others because it is fulfilling to them. She enjoys that part so much, that’s where her heart is, she says, and she thinks that people can sense that.
“It’s incredible, I’ve just learned to appreciate people in such a different way,” she says. “There are so many people willing to give so much of themselves and you just have to be open to that.”
In addition to her work at the Agency on Aging, Cherie and her husband, Mark, are part of a shoreline area motorcycle group that holds a lot of fundraisers, including toy runs.
“We’re always looking for ways to give back to the community, especially for children,” she says.
Cherie says she feels good about doing these kinds of things for individuals in her own community, beyond what she does for the Agency on Aging for work.
“This job has taught me that you only get what you give,” she says, “So, the more you can look beyond your own needs—and it doesn’t have to be a lot, it can be a little bit of time—you can have a huge impact on another person, and we don’t often stop to think about that.”