Lanny has volunteered with The Center since 2016. He learned about The Center through one of his friends who was already a volunteer for the organization. Lanny’s friend knew of an existing care receiver of The Center who needed help and thought that Lanny would be a great fit to help him. The care receiver, Don, was a former NC State football coach who had Parkinson’s. Lanny has always been athletic and a fan of NC State football and basketball, so he too thought this would be a great match. After completing the volunteer orientation, Lanny began to visit Don as part of The Center’s caregiver respite program.
Though Don passed away after only a handful of visits, Lanny continued to volunteer. After trying out an in-home visiting assignment, he started to pick up rides. Lanny found that volunteering with The Center’s transportation program was a great fit for his schedule since he is out of town periodically throughout the year. With transportation “I can kind of set my own schedule. I can look online and see who has rides coming up and if I’m going to be in town and available. That has worked out much better for me….”
Lanny enjoys volunteering with The Center because it allows him to meet new people. “It is amazing the different people that you meet, the different backgrounds that they have. It is fun getting to meet them and getting to know a little more about them, where they have come from and what they have done.”
Lanny was particularly impressed by one care receiver couple, Linda and Brian, who he has driven to medical appointments often since 2017. Lanny admired the great attitude that they both had despite their health concerns and disabilities. As he got to know them better, he learned that they had an outstanding knowledge of ‘60s music. Lanny frequently plays Sirius radio’s ‘60s station in his car while on rides. While driving Linda and Brian “a song would come on and both of them would tell you the title of it and the person who was the singer on it. They never missed. That was an incredible talent that they had, being able to recall that information so readily and easily.”
Lanny’s favorite part of volunteering is seeing joy in the care receivers that he helps. “They are so thankful and grateful that we are able to help. Being able to know that you are doing something worthwhile and it is helping people that need it, that is the most satisfying and rewarding part of it for me.”
(Photo: Lanny and his wife, Linda, on vacation.)