On April 30, senior care volunteers from across the Region gathered at AVIVA Valparaiso for the annual Volunteer Luncheon. AVIVA Valparaiso provides the community’s seniors with superior assisted living and memory care services. Dune Hospice, which is based in Valpo as well, helped sponsor the luncheon. Volunteers from the Bonner Senior Center in Portage, the Banta Senior Center, the St. Agnes Adult Day Service Center, and Dunes Hospice were in attendance. AVIVA’s in-house chef prepared the volunteers with a meal of pasta, colorful fruit and vegetable salads, and iced tea. Cakes with blueberries and cream were served for dessert.
AVIVA has hosted the Volunteer Luncheon for over a decade. The AVIVA staff have paid close attention to what foods the volunteers have enjoyed at past luncheons and tailored the menu to those preferences.
Susan Burelli, sales director at AVIVA Valparaiso, believes that the Volunteer Luncheon is an excellent opportunity to celebrate the great work that local volunteers do.
“It’s important that we recognize these volunteers today because they all help the seniors of the community in some way,” Burelli said. “They do something for others every day of the week and we want to take a day to honor them for that. This is a chance for us to thank them by giving them a nice lunch and a gift bag. We want them to feel special.”
Each volunteer was given a bag filled with an assortment of gifts, including a succulent plant, a bag of gummy bears from the Albanese Candy Factory, and some branded merchandise from Dunes Hospice and AVIVA. Sally Zelenika, hospice liaison at Dunes Hospice, hopes that the luncheon serves as a source of inspiration for the volunteers in attendance.
“We could not accomplish everything we do if it weren’t for our volunteers,” Zelenika said. “I hope that this luncheon will show the volunteers that they matter and that they honestly make a difference in people's lives. We wanted to do more than just give them a trinket as a token of our appreciation. This luncheon is also a great opportunity for them to socialize with others and find out about other places where they might like to volunteer.”
The attendees chatted amiably among themselves as they enjoyed their delicious meal and were quite pleased with the contents of their gift bags. The tireless efforts of local volunteers to build a healthier and happier community for seniors are truly nothing short of inspirational.
“Hopefully, our volunteers get to make some new friends and remember the great lunch they had at AVIVA Valparaiso today,” Burelli said.
The AVIVA staff are looking forward to inviting even more volunteers to next year’s luncheon so that they might be recognized for the many contributions they make to the Region’s senior care centers.
To learn more about Aviva and the senior care services they offer, please visit blase.com.