Crisis Nursery Volunteer Finds Time to Give Back in Retirement

After Sharon Self retired she started looking around for different ways to give back to her community. 

Self wasn't able to regularly volunteer when she was working full time. But since she's retired, she has more time on her hands. She goes to each Monday morning for a few hours and plays with the kids or holds them or helps the staff with whatever tasks they need to have done. 

"There's one family that whenever I show up and they happen to be there, they call me grandma. I've never told them to call me grandma, but they do and that warmth is almost like with my own grandchildren," she said. 

Self encourages her friends to consider volunteering. "Sometimes I think retired people lose that sense of productivity," she said. "Their lives have changed drastically. If they need that feeling, there's certainly a need for them."

My Volunteer Story is a partnership between the St. Charles Community Council and Patch.com to collect and share stories from local volunteers about the impact that volunteering has had on their lives. If you'd like to share your story, stop by the at Spencer Library Branch Sept. 15 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Email Kalen Ponche at kalen.ponche@patch.com to set up a time to stop by and record your thoughts on volunteering. 

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