At ArchCare, coordinators and lead volunteers invite everyone to participate in community service projects, noting, “No experience is necessary to volunteer your time and talents, just a desire to help others and make a difference in your community.” ArchCare is the continuing care and healthcare ministry of the Archdiocese of New York. 

Coordinators say that as an individual volunteer, you can provide love and companionship to a lonely senior, share the skills and activities you enjoy, or just have a pleasant chat about their lives and interests. Volunteers include Eucharistic ministers. 

Building bridges between generations 

“It means a lot to have volunteers here, especially in connecting the different generations of people; overall, it builds a sense of community,” Lisa Hong, an ArchCare administrator at Mary Manning Walsh Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center, told The Good Newsroom in an interview. 

“Whether they’re junior volunteers (teens) or people who are retired looking to give back to the community, it means something important to the residents and to the volunteers themselves … A lot of our volunteers have some sort of special connection to Mary Manning Walsh; they have or have had family members here.” 

Hong is the nursing home’s director of therapeutic recreation and the volunteer program coordinator. Mary Manning Walsh is located on York Avenue at East 72nd Street, Manhattan. 

One of the volunteers at the nursing home, Michele Ruggieri, said, “It all started with a jewelry making program, and I got to know everybody. And her care (mom’s) was so good that I wanted to give back. I was an art major, I still do the jewelry making, and I also do all the arts, crafts, and we played cards today. We started a card club; we’ve decorated the gift shop window and the bulletin boards.” Ruggieri said she and other volunteers seek to bring the residents “a little joy, little activities, whatever we can bring to their lives.” 

Residents take the stage for the Fourth of July 

Ruggieri began volunteering at Mary Manning Walsh 17 years ago when her mother was a resident there. Her mom died two years later, but Ruggieri continued volunteering, determined to support the mission of the nursing home and ArchCare. In the days leading up to the Fourth of July, in this 250th year of the nation, she directed a 45-minute play that she wrote; it featured more than 20 residents and volunteers (costumes and all). It was called “Voices of 1776.” Ruggieri’s parish is St. Monica’s on East 79th Street, Manhattan. 

Coordinators say you can also support the ArchCare mission without leaving your office by organizing book and movie drives, collecting arts and craft supplies, or simply making a corporate donation. “Your efforts will touch hearts, while offering a valuable team-building experience,” an ArchCare statement noted. 

Organizations that have participated in ArchCare volunteer programs include American Express, Bloomingdale’s, Con Edison, Credit Suisse/First Boston, Deloitte and Touche, Gap Inc., Goldman Sachs, Macy’s, McKinsey and Company, Merrill Lynch, Philip Morris, the Rockefeller Foundation, and The Walt Disney Company, the agency said.