{"id":7757,"date":"2021-04-21T11:56:16","date_gmt":"2021-04-21T15:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/old.petermcgill.org\/national-volunteer-week\/"},"modified":"2021-04-21T11:56:16","modified_gmt":"2021-04-21T15:56:16","slug":"national-volunteer-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/old.petermcgill.org\/en\/national-volunteer-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating National Volunteer Week with the Yellow Door"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"7757\" class=\"elementor elementor-7757 elementor-7750\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-cc56715 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"cc56715\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-e85721d\" data-id=\"e85721d\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-2f0aee1 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"2f0aee1\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-093b259\" data-id=\"093b259\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-26a1717 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"26a1717\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"852\" src=\"https:\/\/old.petermcgill.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hannahb-kaitlin-fahey-769x1024.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-7751\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/old.petermcgill.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hannahb-kaitlin-fahey-769x1024.jpeg 769w, https:\/\/old.petermcgill.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hannahb-kaitlin-fahey-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/old.petermcgill.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hannahb-kaitlin-fahey-768x1022.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/old.petermcgill.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hannahb-kaitlin-fahey-1154x1536.jpeg 1154w, https:\/\/old.petermcgill.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hannahb-kaitlin-fahey-1320x1757.jpeg 1320w, https:\/\/old.petermcgill.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/hannahb-kaitlin-fahey.jpeg 1450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-9464bd6\" data-id=\"9464bd6\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d6f8fa0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d6f8fa0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;How the simple act of listening helps our most vulnerable communities\\nOne woman\u2019s experience volunteering with The Yellow Door through COVID-19\\n\\nThis National Volunteer Week (April 18th - 23rd), The Yellow Door is reflecting on how our volunteers, who give freely of their time to support those most vulnerable in our society, have bravely faced the past year of COVID-19. This is the story of just one of those volunteers.\\n\\nHannah Buteau is an entrepreneur who, with her husband, runs a successful moving company in the heart of Montreal. In this business clients need services to be delivered efficiently. Time is money. But her volunteering for The Yellow Door during the pandemic as a \u201cfriendly caller\u201d to isolated seniors, has changed her relationship with time.\\n\u201cAt first my role was to make a 5-minute check in call to Yellow Door\u2019s senior members, to see if they needed help with their groceries, assistance making medical appointments, things like that,\u201d Hannah shared, \u201cbut calls very quickly became half an hour, or even an hour \u2013 people just wanted to talk to break the boredom and isolation. Although I had other names on my list, there\u2019s no way I was hanging up on them, so I just listened and gave them the time they needed\u201d.\\n\\nHannah very quickly got to know the people she was calling week after week and began to form strong connections. \u201cI didn\u2019t really have a grandparent-grandchild relationship growing up, but I\u2019ve always had tremendous respect for our seniors, so I just took the time to listen and have a real, connected conversation. It was fascinating for me to learn about the people I was calling. Just through listening I learnt so much. We\u2019d talk about banal, daily things like how one woman missed doing her crossword in a caf\u00e9, but we\u2019d also talk about their personal story \u2013 what brought them to Montreal, the way the world had changed over the years, and even their hopes for the future.\u201d \\n\\nWhen asked about the nature of the conversations, Hannah said \u201canything and everything. Conversations are philosophical, introspective, hilarious, and sometimes sad. Some people just want to talk about what they did that day \u2013 which is something so important that\u2019s missing during this period of isolation. When you live alone and you\u2019re not allowed visitors and you\u2019re discouraged \u2013 or banned \u2013 from going outside, you don\u2019t have that simple social interaction of accounting for your day with someone. Everyone you come into contact with is there for a transaction and there\u2019s no time to just be with each other.\u201d\\n\\nThe simple act of listening has given a social outlet to isolated seniors, and given this volunteer a fresh perspective on life. Hannah recounted, \u201cI feel more empathy than I ever did before. Hearing the stories of the seniors I\u2019m calling has been eye opening. It has made me think about the choices I make and long-term ramifications of those \u2013 the serious decisions I make now that will determine my final path. Our conversations often cover how people\u2019s choices have affected them, and I feel so lucky to be able to get to know people on this level.\u201d\\n\\nThe Yellow Door Generations Program, through its volunteers serves over 220 senior members with friendly visits, tech help and other support, such as helping book, and accompanying seniors to COVID-19 vaccine appointments. The Friendly Calls service, launched in 2019 with financial support from Bell Canada, was originally a way to quickly check in with members, and has now been adapted so that the most vulnerable and isolated seniors are matched with a volunteer for a 1-hour phone call each week.\\n&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:513,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;12&quot;:0}\">How the simple act of listening helps our most vulnerable communities: One woman\u2019s experience volunteering with The Yellow Door through COVID-19<\/span><\/h3><p><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;How the simple act of listening helps our most vulnerable communities\\nOne woman\u2019s experience volunteering with The Yellow Door through COVID-19\\n\\nThis National Volunteer Week (April 18th - 23rd), The Yellow Door is reflecting on how our volunteers, who give freely of their time to support those most vulnerable in our society, have bravely faced the past year of COVID-19. This is the story of just one of those volunteers.\\n\\nHannah Buteau is an entrepreneur who, with her husband, runs a successful moving company in the heart of Montreal. In this business clients need services to be delivered efficiently. Time is money. But her volunteering for The Yellow Door during the pandemic as a \u201cfriendly caller\u201d to isolated seniors, has changed her relationship with time.\\n\u201cAt first my role was to make a 5-minute check in call to Yellow Door\u2019s senior members, to see if they needed help with their groceries, assistance making medical appointments, things like that,\u201d Hannah shared, \u201cbut calls very quickly became half an hour, or even an hour \u2013 people just wanted to talk to break the boredom and isolation. Although I had other names on my list, there\u2019s no way I was hanging up on them, so I just listened and gave them the time they needed\u201d.\\n\\nHannah very quickly got to know the people she was calling week after week and began to form strong connections. \u201cI didn\u2019t really have a grandparent-grandchild relationship growing up, but I\u2019ve always had tremendous respect for our seniors, so I just took the time to listen and have a real, connected conversation. It was fascinating for me to learn about the people I was calling. Just through listening I learnt so much. We\u2019d talk about banal, daily things like how one woman missed doing her crossword in a caf\u00e9, but we\u2019d also talk about their personal story \u2013 what brought them to Montreal, the way the world had changed over the years, and even their hopes for the future.\u201d \\n\\nWhen asked about the nature of the conversations, Hannah said \u201canything and everything. Conversations are philosophical, introspective, hilarious, and sometimes sad. Some people just want to talk about what they did that day \u2013 which is something so important that\u2019s missing during this period of isolation. When you live alone and you\u2019re not allowed visitors and you\u2019re discouraged \u2013 or banned \u2013 from going outside, you don\u2019t have that simple social interaction of accounting for your day with someone. Everyone you come into contact with is there for a transaction and there\u2019s no time to just be with each other.\u201d\\n\\nThe simple act of listening has given a social outlet to isolated seniors, and given this volunteer a fresh perspective on life. Hannah recounted, \u201cI feel more empathy than I ever did before. Hearing the stories of the seniors I\u2019m calling has been eye opening. It has made me think about the choices I make and long-term ramifications of those \u2013 the serious decisions I make now that will determine my final path. Our conversations often cover how people\u2019s choices have affected them, and I feel so lucky to be able to get to know people on this level.\u201d\\n\\nThe Yellow Door Generations Program, through its volunteers serves over 220 senior members with friendly visits, tech help and other support, such as helping book, and accompanying seniors to COVID-19 vaccine appointments. The Friendly Calls service, launched in 2019 with financial support from Bell Canada, was originally a way to quickly check in with members, and has now been adapted so that the most vulnerable and isolated seniors are matched with a volunteer for a 1-hour phone call each week.\\n&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:513,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;12&quot;:0}\">This National Volunteer Week (April 18th &#8211; 23rd), The Yellow Door is reflecting on how our volunteers, who give freely of their time to support those most vulnerable in our society, have bravely faced the past year of COVID-19. This is the story of just one of those volunteers.<br \/><br \/>Hannah Buteau is an entrepreneur who, with her husband, runs a successful moving company in the heart of Montreal. In this business clients need services to be delivered efficiently. Time is money. But her volunteering for The Yellow Door during the pandemic as a \u201cfriendly caller\u201d to isolated seniors, has changed her relationship with time.<br \/>\u201cAt first my role was to make a 5-minute check in call to Yellow Door\u2019s senior members, to see if they needed help with their groceries, assistance making medical appointments, things like that,\u201d Hannah shared, \u201cbut calls very quickly became half an hour, or even an hour \u2013 people just wanted to talk to break the boredom and isolation. Although I had other names on my list, there\u2019s no way I was hanging up on them, so I just listened and gave them the time they needed\u201d.<br \/><br \/>Hannah very quickly got to know the people she was calling week after week and began to form strong connections. \u201cI didn\u2019t really have a grandparent-grandchild relationship growing up, but I\u2019ve always had tremendous respect for our seniors, so I just took the time to listen and have a real, connected conversation. It was fascinating for me to learn about the people I was calling. Just through listening I learnt so much. We\u2019d talk about banal, daily things like how one woman missed doing her crossword in a caf\u00e9, but we\u2019d also talk about their personal story \u2013 what brought them to Montreal, the way the world had changed over the years, and even their hopes for the future.\u201d <br \/><br \/>When asked about the nature of the conversations, Hannah said \u201canything and everything. Conversations are philosophical, introspective, hilarious, and sometimes sad. Some people just want to talk about what they did that day \u2013 which is something so important that\u2019s missing during this period of isolation. When you live alone and you\u2019re not allowed visitors and you\u2019re discouraged \u2013 or banned \u2013 from going outside, you don\u2019t have that simple social interaction of accounting for your day with someone. Everyone you come into contact with is there for a transaction and there\u2019s no time to just be with each other.\u201d<br \/><br \/>The simple act of listening has given a social outlet to isolated seniors, and given this volunteer a fresh perspective on life. Hannah recounted, \u201cI feel more empathy than I ever did before. Hearing the stories of the seniors I\u2019m calling has been eye opening. It has made me think about the choices I make and long-term ramifications of those \u2013 the serious decisions I make now that will determine my final path. Our conversations often cover how people\u2019s choices have affected them, and I feel so lucky to be able to get to know people on this level.\u201d<br \/><\/span><\/p><h4><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;How the simple act of listening helps our most vulnerable communities\\nOne woman\u2019s experience volunteering with The Yellow Door through COVID-19\\n\\nThis National Volunteer Week (April 18th - 23rd), The Yellow Door is reflecting on how our volunteers, who give freely of their time to support those most vulnerable in our society, have bravely faced the past year of COVID-19. This is the story of just one of those volunteers.\\n\\nHannah Buteau is an entrepreneur who, with her husband, runs a successful moving company in the heart of Montreal. In this business clients need services to be delivered efficiently. Time is money. But her volunteering for The Yellow Door during the pandemic as a \u201cfriendly caller\u201d to isolated seniors, has changed her relationship with time.\\n\u201cAt first my role was to make a 5-minute check in call to Yellow Door\u2019s senior members, to see if they needed help with their groceries, assistance making medical appointments, things like that,\u201d Hannah shared, \u201cbut calls very quickly became half an hour, or even an hour \u2013 people just wanted to talk to break the boredom and isolation. Although I had other names on my list, there\u2019s no way I was hanging up on them, so I just listened and gave them the time they needed\u201d.\\n\\nHannah very quickly got to know the people she was calling week after week and began to form strong connections. \u201cI didn\u2019t really have a grandparent-grandchild relationship growing up, but I\u2019ve always had tremendous respect for our seniors, so I just took the time to listen and have a real, connected conversation. It was fascinating for me to learn about the people I was calling. Just through listening I learnt so much. We\u2019d talk about banal, daily things like how one woman missed doing her crossword in a caf\u00e9, but we\u2019d also talk about their personal story \u2013 what brought them to Montreal, the way the world had changed over the years, and even their hopes for the future.\u201d \\n\\nWhen asked about the nature of the conversations, Hannah said \u201canything and everything. Conversations are philosophical, introspective, hilarious, and sometimes sad. Some people just want to talk about what they did that day \u2013 which is something so important that\u2019s missing during this period of isolation. When you live alone and you\u2019re not allowed visitors and you\u2019re discouraged \u2013 or banned \u2013 from going outside, you don\u2019t have that simple social interaction of accounting for your day with someone. Everyone you come into contact with is there for a transaction and there\u2019s no time to just be with each other.\u201d\\n\\nThe simple act of listening has given a social outlet to isolated seniors, and given this volunteer a fresh perspective on life. Hannah recounted, \u201cI feel more empathy than I ever did before. Hearing the stories of the seniors I\u2019m calling has been eye opening. It has made me think about the choices I make and long-term ramifications of those \u2013 the serious decisions I make now that will determine my final path. Our conversations often cover how people\u2019s choices have affected them, and I feel so lucky to be able to get to know people on this level.\u201d\\n\\nThe Yellow Door Generations Program, through its volunteers serves over 220 senior members with friendly visits, tech help and other support, such as helping book, and accompanying seniors to COVID-19 vaccine appointments. The Friendly Calls service, launched in 2019 with financial support from Bell Canada, was originally a way to quickly check in with members, and has now been adapted so that the most vulnerable and isolated seniors are matched with a volunteer for a 1-hour phone call each week.\\n&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:513,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;12&quot;:0}\">The Yellow Door Generations Program, through its volunteers serves over 220 senior members with friendly visits, tech help and other support, such as helping book, and accompanying seniors to COVID-19 vaccine appointments.<\/span><\/h4><p><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;How the simple act of listening helps our most vulnerable communities\\nOne woman\u2019s experience volunteering with The Yellow Door through COVID-19\\n\\nThis National Volunteer Week (April 18th - 23rd), The Yellow Door is reflecting on how our volunteers, who give freely of their time to support those most vulnerable in our society, have bravely faced the past year of COVID-19. This is the story of just one of those volunteers.\\n\\nHannah Buteau is an entrepreneur who, with her husband, runs a successful moving company in the heart of Montreal. In this business clients need services to be delivered efficiently. Time is money. But her volunteering for The Yellow Door during the pandemic as a \u201cfriendly caller\u201d to isolated seniors, has changed her relationship with time.\\n\u201cAt first my role was to make a 5-minute check in call to Yellow Door\u2019s senior members, to see if they needed help with their groceries, assistance making medical appointments, things like that,\u201d Hannah shared, \u201cbut calls very quickly became half an hour, or even an hour \u2013 people just wanted to talk to break the boredom and isolation. Although I had other names on my list, there\u2019s no way I was hanging up on them, so I just listened and gave them the time they needed\u201d.\\n\\nHannah very quickly got to know the people she was calling week after week and began to form strong connections. \u201cI didn\u2019t really have a grandparent-grandchild relationship growing up, but I\u2019ve always had tremendous respect for our seniors, so I just took the time to listen and have a real, connected conversation. It was fascinating for me to learn about the people I was calling. Just through listening I learnt so much. We\u2019d talk about banal, daily things like how one woman missed doing her crossword in a caf\u00e9, but we\u2019d also talk about their personal story \u2013 what brought them to Montreal, the way the world had changed over the years, and even their hopes for the future.\u201d \\n\\nWhen asked about the nature of the conversations, Hannah said \u201canything and everything. Conversations are philosophical, introspective, hilarious, and sometimes sad. Some people just want to talk about what they did that day \u2013 which is something so important that\u2019s missing during this period of isolation. When you live alone and you\u2019re not allowed visitors and you\u2019re discouraged \u2013 or banned \u2013 from going outside, you don\u2019t have that simple social interaction of accounting for your day with someone. Everyone you come into contact with is there for a transaction and there\u2019s no time to just be with each other.\u201d\\n\\nThe simple act of listening has given a social outlet to isolated seniors, and given this volunteer a fresh perspective on life. Hannah recounted, \u201cI feel more empathy than I ever did before. Hearing the stories of the seniors I\u2019m calling has been eye opening. It has made me think about the choices I make and long-term ramifications of those \u2013 the serious decisions I make now that will determine my final path. Our conversations often cover how people\u2019s choices have affected them, and I feel so lucky to be able to get to know people on this level.\u201d\\n\\nThe Yellow Door Generations Program, through its volunteers serves over 220 senior members with friendly visits, tech help and other support, such as helping book, and accompanying seniors to COVID-19 vaccine appointments. The Friendly Calls service, launched in 2019 with financial support from Bell Canada, was originally a way to quickly check in with members, and has now been adapted so that the most vulnerable and isolated seniors are matched with a volunteer for a 1-hour phone call each week.\\n&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:513,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;12&quot;:0}\"> The Friendly Calls service, launched in 2019 with financial support from Bell Canada, was originally a way to quickly check in with members, and has now been adapted so that the most vulnerable and isolated seniors are matched with a volunteer for a 1-hour phone call each week.<br \/><\/span><\/p><h4>For more information on the Yellow Door and their programs contact <a href=\"mailto:info@yellowdoor.org\">info@yellowdoor.org<\/a><\/h4>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How the simple act of listening helps our most vulnerable communities: One woman\u2019s experience volunteering with The Yellow Door through COVID-19 This National Volunteer Week (April 18th &#8211; 23rd), The Yellow Door is reflecting on how our volunteers, who give freely of their time to support those most vulnerable in our society, have bravely faced [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7752,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,42,32],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.petermcgill.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7757"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.petermcgill.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.petermcgill.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.petermcgill.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.petermcgill.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/old.petermcgill.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.petermcgill.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.petermcgill.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.petermcgill.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.petermcgill.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}