Spring is commonly known as the time for deep cleaning and preparing for the new season, but fall can also be a great time to prepare for the long winter months ahead. For Stephanie Lundy, financial services officer, fall marks the time for the Adrian Senior Center clean up.
Stephanie works closely with the realtors in her community. To stay connected to the realtors in Lenawee County, Stephanie is a member of the Lenawee County Association of Realtors and serves on their committee of community involvement. As a member of the community involvement committee, she works to keep realtors and associates involved in the community through service or donations. Each month, they select different nonprofits to donate to or find gaps in the community where they can provide help.
During the pandemic, the association delivered meals to seniors in Adrian through the Meals on Wheels Foundation. Now that senior centers are open to the public again, Stephanie and the committee decided to offer help with their fall deep cleaning. Senior citizens are unable to bend down to pull weeds, reach high places to dust, or stand for long periods of time to organize. The center currently has a cleaning service for basic daily duties like vacuuming or dishes, so Stephanie and her team focused on washing windows, dusting the fans, and disinfecting the walls.
Stephanie was one volunteer among a group of realtors and affiliates, but she also spends extra time as the coordinator of the event. She ensured the number of volunteers met the need for the amount of work the center had, coordinated the time of the event, and helped with set up.
After a morning of volunteering, the senior center was extremely appreciative. “The senior center was very grateful, they sent all of us Thank You cards and deeply expressed their gratitude,” Stephanie said joyfully.
For Stephanie, volunteering offers personal positives but also networking opportunities. Events like these offer her a chance to speak with local realtors and realtor affiliates, understand what’s going on in their worlds, and hear about projects they are working on.
“Just building relationships is the key piece of the organization. And that was part of our goal for volunteering as well. It gets other real estate groups to work together. It's a group of Lenawee County Realtors getting together to form relationships and work on a common goal,” explained Stephanie.
Before the snow hits and we are all stuck inside for the winter, volunteer! Take advantage of these last few weeks of fall weather to volunteer at your local senior center, humane society, or food pantry. As the holiday season quickly approaches, many of these organizations need more help with cleaning, winter preparation, or holiday donations.
This is also a great time for fall deep cleaning in your own home! Instead of waiting until spring, dust the ceiling fans, wipe down the top shelves, and declutter before the influx of Christmas presents floods your house.
For more ideas on how you can donate your time to the community, visit Open Fields Blog | GreenStone FCS.
