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This June, staff members from Wellington at Hershey’s Mill and their partner, Caring Hospice, volunteered for two days at Habitat for Humanity as part of their first community Volunteer Initiative.
These volunteer days were part of a larger effort to encourage a giving heart and spirit of service in Wellington staff and residents. Though the weather was too hot to bring residents, they participated back at Wellington by assisting in fundraising events and making gifts for incoming Habitat homeowners. In just three months, they held dress down days, bake sales, raffles, and sold t-shirt sponsorships to raise over $1,300 for Habitat’s mission.
Habitat was chosen for this partnership as a result of the efforts of Wellington employee, Sabrina Codella, who has been a Habitat homeowner herself in New Jersey since 2008. Since spending nearly 400 hours of sweat equity building her home, Sabrina went back to school, became a RN, and is now the Director of Resident Care at Wellington Court.
Ms. Codella said the idea behind the initiative, aside from bringing staff and residents together, was to alleviate the stigma that entering into a senior facility means that a person can no longer contribute to society. She said the attitude that she wanted to impress upon residents was that, “No matter what stage of life you’re in, you can give back to the community.”
We look forward to partnering with Wellington in the future and were grateful to be a part of their first community Volunteer Initiative!