Mary Bradley has been volunteering with the ladies at our County Road F home in White Bear Lake for three years. She takes the time to make each person feel special. (Mary is pictured above with the ladies from County Road F.)

Sandy and Mary

When Mary first started volunteering, she would come to the house and bake amazing and beautiful confections with all four of the ladies. Sometimes she would also do crafts or play games with the ladies on Monday evenings. Everyone wanted in on the action, fun, and attention. Mary and Program Manager, Jeanne Ottman, discussed the challenge of all four ladies in a very small kitchen trying to bake and how divided her time was. They came up with a better plan. Currently, Mary has been filling a need for 1:1 specialized attention—which does not happen as much as it did prior to COVID-19 due to current weekend staffing patterns. Mary does this by giving each lady a special “Mary Saturday” to plan and look forward to. Mary has also come along to Community Education classes and other events to be an extra support.

Mary truly takes the time to make each person feel special once a month on “their” Saturday. The ladies look forward to and plan their individual “Mary Days.” They have gone out for coffee, shopping, and mall exploring. The ladies have gotten professional manicures, had lunches out, and gone to craft shows. It means so much for each person to choose what activity they would like to do and have Mary’s undivided attention. Mary is up for just about anything and she is so very generous with her time and attention. She brings smiles and an enthusiasm with her caring and considerate ways. The ladies have a chance to talk to a friend, make important choices, and truly be the center of attention for a few hours.

Congratulations, Mary! Thank you for all you do for the ladies of County Road F!

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Deb with Cindy

Deb began volunteering at our Rockford home right after the house opened 20 years ago. Her background is in music therapy, and she was working with people with disabilities in the Wayzata schools. Deb told us she felt a need to do something as a volunteer and found out about opportunities with Hammer Residences. She then got connected with the Rockford home and began giving Cindy piano lessons. Then Carla became interested. Deb says it then molded into getting to know all the gals at Rockford.

Today she continues to give Carla and Cindy piano lessons and spends time with Stephanie and Amy too. They all enjoy going to plays and concerts and spending holidays and family celebrations together. Deb says she’s enjoyed getting to know the gals’ parents, too.

Deb with Carla

Deb tries to see the ladies on a weekly basis and works with the home’s staff to juggle everyone’s busy calendars.

Sara Husfeldt is the Program Manager at the Rockford home and says Deb has brought joy to all the ladies at Rockford. They consider her part of the Rockford family and look forward to her visits. Sara says Deb not only treats the ladies to concerts but brings back tokens from her vacations, sends postcards that they enjoy, and remembers their birthdays.

Debs tells us she also enjoys the weekly visits and when she walks in the door she feels right at home.

Thank you, Deb. We are thankful for everything you do for the Rockford ladies and Hammer & NER.

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Andrew began volunteering at Hammer & NER in 2018. He was looking for something to do outside of work and thought volunteering at Hammer would be a fun opportunity.

Then, about a year and a half ago, Program Manager Amelia Gesirr was looking for a volunteer for Josh. He is very social and loves to do activities like sports and going to the movies. He is also a very talented artist.

Andrew and Josh in Josh’s studio

As it turns out, so is Andrew. When Andrew first applied to volunteer, he mentioned he enjoyed playing and watching sports, watching movies, listening to music, and drawing. Andrew and Josh seemed to have a lot in common.

Ever since then, Andrew and Josh have been meeting weekly. They enjoy hanging out, going to sporting events, playing video games, and watching movies. They have gone to the State Fair and professional wrestling events. Andrew says he enjoys watching Josh laugh and be happy.

Josh has been selling his art at the Northeast Farmers market in Minneapolis and at other art shows. Andrew helps him set up and take down his tent.

When asked what keeps him engaged, Andrew says that getting to do a lot of different activities with Josh has been a great experience and has had a positive impact on him. He and Josh have developed a great friendship.

Andrew, thank you for all you do for Josh and for Hammer & NER!

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A retired teacher meets her match at chess!

When Ellie Brockman, a retired teacher, learned of a volunteer opportunity at Hammer for someone who enjoyed the challenge of chess, she tells us she was delighted.

Ellie loves a good game of chess and found a formidable opponent in Bob!

Bob loves to play a friendly game of chess with Ellie, too!

Before retiring from Minneapolis Public Schools, Ellie taught gifted children, coached Future Problem-Solving teams, coached chess, and rewrote the Minnesota grade five science curriculum, focusing on a study of the Mississippi River, among other things.

“I want to do my part in making the world a better place, and I love playing chess,” Ellie says. “This opportunity offered both. Additionally, there was a third component that intrigued me—I would play a small part in an exceptional organization.” Ellie was paired with Bob, at Hammer’s Cedarwood home, and visits with him twice a week. “I knew this would be a challenging experience when I met Bob, as I found him to be a formidable opponent,” she says. “Now, as I play chess with Bob, all around me is the activity of the house. The other residents have come to know me. They tease and joke, trying to guess if Bob will beat me on any given day. Gabe watches us play. He likes to laugh and make goofy comments. Mikey engages me in conversation about who I know. Charley smiles like an angel. We debate different things, but agree that pizza rules! When I say ‘goodbye’ at the end of the day, a loud chorus of the guys calling out ‘goodbye!’ warms my heart. I go home with a smile on my face.”

What keeps Ellie engaged with her volunteer work? “It’s the relationships I have with Bob, the staff, and other residents,” she says. “The people who work at Cedarwood are impressive, caring and, well, they are also comedians. There is so much laughter and fun as they go about their demanding day. They are an inspiration to me. Above all, what I appreciate about volunteering at Hammer is being on a team with remarkable people and making a small difference in someone’s life. On the days I volunteer at Cedarwood, I clearly feel that I have done something meaningful.”

Ellie has accrued 128 hours since she began volunteering in May 2021. She has also started volunteering as a grant writer with Hammer’s Development team.

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John gives Andy guitar lessons and they enjoy “jamming” together.

Andy (left) loves hanging out with his music mentor, John.

One evening, John Hanson was searching the internet for volunteer opportunities and stumbled across opportunities at Hammer through the HandsOn Twin Cities website. He saw a posting that read, guitar instructor needed. “I thought, if I can volunteer and play guitar—that sounds awesome!” That’s how he met Andy.

Andy’s dream was to play in a stadium–and he’s doing it!

John has been giving Andy guitar lessons since September 2018. “We meet every other week,” John says. “We’ve been doing more fundamental stuff and we usually have a song we want to learn.” John has also been teaching Andy how to jam. “We’ll be in a certain scale, and I’ll say ‘okay, you can play all of these notes and I’ll play some chords underneath it.’” Andy likes rock and roll. “We end every lesson with Twisted Sister’s We’re Not Gonna Take It,” John says. “I play the chords and Andy knows the solo. We always like to end the lesson on a good note.”

John says Andy’s long-time dream was to play the Star-Spangled Banner at a stadium. “It was all his idea,” John says. “We worked on it for almost a year. He sent out a video to try to get a gig playing the national anthem before a hockey game and people responded. I was really impressed. That’s a big dream.” So far, Andy has played the Star-Spangled Banner three times at junior league hockey games—twice for the Minnesota Magicians and once for the Minnesota Blue Ox. “The first time he played was for a charity event between former Wild and Gopher players!” John says. “All of them were awesome!”

What advice does John have for others who are thinking about volunteering at Hammer? “Go for it,” he says. “It’s very rewarding. There’s a sense of accomplishment and pride that comes along with it. You know you’re making a difference. The fact that you can bring some joy into that person’s life is so rewarding.”

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