Staying Connected: Volunteers Share Their Thoughts and Support

This post was originally published April 23, 2020 on www.recoverycafelongmont.org by Lisa Searchinger.

Our volunteers embody the spirit of Recovery Café Longmont by nurturing a healing community and a culture of recovery for everyone who comes through our doors.

We’ve been checking on all our volunteers to see how they are faring during the COVID-19 crisis. We connected with each volunteer by phone and held a virtual meeting with our Ambassadors of Hospitality. Our Ambassadors provide the gift of presence to our community. This crucial volunteer role is the embodiment of the Café’s mission of refuge and healing. Sharing a meal, playing a card game, or listening with an open-heart offers both Members and Ambassadors the opportunity to awaken to our shared humanity.

Many of our volunteers are using their time to pursue creative outlets, such as solving difficult jigsaw puzzles, crocheting, and reading up a storm. While we’ve certainly been missing the delicious home-cooked meals our volunteer Café Cooks provide for our communal lunch each day, we are happy to hear they are exercising those cooking skills at home!

Connecting more important than ever

One thing our volunteers all have in common is staying connected with their loved ones. “I’m not a person who is technically minded, yet here I am on Zoom all the time! I cannot believe that I figured it out so easily,” one Ambassador said. After being tested and given the green light, one volunteer couple has been able to have near-daily visits with their grandchildren. “They are the light of our life. We are so blessed, as we know not everyone can do this.”

All our volunteers miss coming into the Café and connecting with our Members. Even though they know staying at home is the best option for keeping our community safe, it can be a bit unnerving. “It’s just so frustrating. This is a time when people really need help.”

To maintain the special connection they have with our Members, our volunteers are mailing greeting cards and crafting kits, making phone calls, and even making videos. Volunteers Anne Kelly and Erica Lee are filming Virtual School for Recovery videos on meditation and yoga for our Members, which are posted weekly on our YouTube channel. This kind of dedication makes our volunteers our greatest resource.

Recovery Café Longmont thanks all our volunteers for their incredible service!