FEBRUARY 2021
12
SPARK
A Calling to Volunteer By Bill Krasean, Senior Services, RSVP Advisory Council Volunteer Larry Hagg is a practical fellow when it comes to volunteering: “I’m not good at sitting around,” he said. At a deeper level, however, he admits that helping others is his “calling. It’s what I like to do.” A 60-year-old Detroit native, Larry has spent much of his life meeting that calling of helping others: 25 years working at the Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital and 22 years as a Firefighter/ Medical First Responder for the Oshtemo Township Fire Rescue. His years at the psychiatric hospital were not easy because many of the patients had major mental health issues. “But I loved my job,” he said. “I was a really good fit for that kind of work.” Over the years he witnessed the hospital patient load shrink from about 800 in 1982 to a maximum of 200 or less as funding decreased and patients were moved to residential facilities. The Kalamazoo facility is one of the two psychiatric hospital in Michigan that remain open. Decades ago there were six. Larry said that in the years when he was a medical first responder he occasionally would see people he knew when he worked at the hospital, many now homeless and in need of care. Since he retired in 2011 and joined RSVP – Your
Invitation to Volunteer in 2018, he has volunteered with enthusiasm, spending time with the American Red Cross, the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, Loaves and Fishes and Heartland Hospice, to name a few. “I try to volunteer at two or three places every week, although the COVID pandemic restricted the number of opportunities for all volunteers. I feel good when I do good for others,” Larry said. “I like to see a happy outcome and the reward is a very good feeling.” He said society often views its heroes as people in sports or acting. “But the real heroes who are making a difference are people at places like Ministry with Community, the Gospel Mission, and St. Vincent DePaul’s along with many other organizations where volunteers are so badly needed. My attitude has always been that if I can help out I will try.” RSVP – Your Invitation to Volunteer is a program of Senior Services of Southwest Michigan. Membership is free. RSVP offers placement assistance and benefits for people age 55 and better to volunteer. Many opportunities in Kalamazoo County and a few in Calhoun County. Volunteers are needed with Meals on Wheels, Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes, Medicare Medicaid Assistance Program (MMAP), Senior Services Home Repair, and more. Regular, flexible schedules available. Contact RSVP at 269-382-0515 or www.seniorservices1.org.
