(upbeat music) - Hello neighbors.

Welcome to "Look for the Helpers, Portraits in Community Service".

I'm your host, Cynthia Tyler.

For as long as people have lived together, there have been those who've been inspired to give freely of themselves in order to make people's lives better.

Volunteers have provided the creation and foundation for so many nonprofit organizations and groups truly becoming the beating heart of the community through their tireless and selfless efforts.

Today we take time to honor and learn about two of our many local volunteers.

Dennis Crowley shares how his cancer scare helped spur him on to help others.

Today, this active survivor volunteers with hospice, cancer support, literacy volunteers, and more.

And an illness of a different kind spurred Judith Gould to help those with mental health and homeless issues, creating art and self-expression workshops at local hospitals in Kingston, Ontario.

Please join me as we celebrate our local volunteers.

(upbeat music) Dennis Crowley is here with us today.

Thank you so much for being with us, Dennis.

- Thank you for having me.

- You're very welcome.

You have a marvelous list of volunteer work that you've done through hospice cancer supports.

You're a gardener and Literacy Volunteers of America.

That is such a wide range of volunteerism.

What got you started in volunteering?

- Actually, it was cancer.

In 2010, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and after about six months it was stage four prostate cancer.

And I am still battling stage four prostate cancer.

I'm on my 16th year, which is really unusual and I just do it and I want to share what I know.

- Absolutely.

- About getting through it.

- That's incredible.

So that obviously inspires the different places that you're volunteering, especially cancer support.

Now what group specifically is that, that you volunteer for for cancer support?

- Well, I was involved in the Walker Cancer Center.

I was on a committee to design some of the rooms for cancer patients.

And I volunteered at the cancer center for about a year and a half, I would sit with patients and get them through because it's a total shock when you hear you have cancer.

- [Cynthia] I can imagine.

- And so it was very, very interesting.

- I'm sure it was and obviously because you volunteer for the Literacy Volunteers of America, you obviously love learning and sharing that knowledge.

You just spoke about that.

So the Literacy Volunteers of America, where does that come from?

- I happen to run into a gentleman and he was a prominent person and he got me interested in dealing in the literacy program.

Long story short, I ended up with a 554-year-old gentleman who was, parents were in the military.

He had traveled around and he was one of those kids that go sit in the corner.

We just want to get you through this and everything.

And he had no confidence in him and it took four years.

- Four years, but you took that time to help that gentleman learn how to read.

- Right.

- That's incredible, that's absolutely amazing.

So, in so far as the volunteer work that you do for literacy, are there any other literacy programs that you are a part of locally now?

- Not in the literacy, no, I'm over.

I have not learned how to say no.

- That seems to be the plight of the volunteer, yes, but I imagine though that you really enjoy it.

- Oh, I enjoy it.

- So what do you get out of it personally being a volunteer?

- Just self-satisfaction and knowing I help somebody.

- Well, that's all we could ever hope for when we do this.

And so going on to, you're a master gardener.

- Right.

- Incredible, now, is that something that you've always had a fascination with?

- Well, I've always loved gardening and I ended up, I heard about the Master Gardening program and I participated in it, and I enjoy gardening and I am a strong believer in eating organic foods.

And so I grow everything organically and hope that most people that I deal with, they end up doing the same thing, is growing organically.

- Do you teach people how to organic garden?

- Yes, the Chapon Water Maddox Foundation, I worked at their location over on, I can't remember, North Carolina, I believe the avenue is.

And we started a community garden there, and two years ago we raised 1800 pounds in a small plot for the Urban Mission.

- 1800 pounds.

- Right.

- Amazing, that's impressive.

- That's also another thing involved there is that the people from JRC and people from at that time Arc, their supervisor would come and we would work.

Three of us would work with them and to see them put a bean in the garden and let it grow.

And some of 'em were not capable of it, but it was still fun.

- Well, that's just it, it's fun for you.

And to see that it impact into the community that way.

So if somebody wanted to come and volunteer for the community garden, what kind of jobs would they be able to do?

- If you volunteer for there, it's planting vegetables and harvesting them and just taking care of 'em.

You have to learn about the diseases and the wild animals that like your food better than you do.

And keep eating it and there's many things.

And plus you get to work with people.

- And now that must be something very satisfactory for you because you have volunteered for so long, in so many places.

What is the connection to people mean to you?

- I couldn't live without connection to people.

I mean, I live alone on a thing, and I live in a rural part of the Jefferson County, but still, I love going and meeting people and talking to them.

And like when I was working for, well, I still work for hospice.

I worked with a gentleman who was 99 years old and I worked with him for three months and we became such good friends.

- Oh, marvelous.

So it's wonderful that you mention living in a rural community.

I, myself grow up, I live in Antwerp, so I live in a rural community myself.

So it's sometimes people get discouraged about wanting to go reach out to volunteer because they live rural.

But you definitely make the effort because it's worthwhile to you.

That's fantastic, absolutely.

So in so far as hospice, how long have you been with hospice?

- I've been with hospice now, I think for seven years.

- Goodness, that's amazing.

- I go up to the place here in Watertown and work.

Occasionally they'll call and they have a problem or something, but what I like doing is going into a person's home and being with, meeting the person who has cancer and try to encourage 'em.

And the best thing is when I can get 'em to smile.

- Well, of course laughter is the best medicine.

That's what they always say.

- That's right.

- And I'm sure because you yourself have experienced the fight with cancer that you're undoubtedly an inspiration to people that are now, like you said, having the shock of diagnosing that they are with this disease.

- Right.

- So that's wonderful that they have you to do that.

So is there a specific memory or a special moment that you can remember?

Like everybody has down days, everybody struggles and you give so much.

When you have a down day like that, what do you use, what kind of motto or mantra or memory do you use to inspire you to keep going?

- Good question, what do I use?

It's just that I've learned over the year that everybody runs through stress and everything like that.

And you just have to figure out, do some deep breathing exercises, get up and walk around.

Go do something.

- Get out into the world.

- Yeah.

- Marvelous, that's wonderful.

Now, as a child, was, was that something that was given to you in your childhood?

Were you taught by your family or your community to give back?

- I'm sure it was an influence on me, but not really, no.

It was cancer that changed my life and I have a slogan that I'm not dying from cancer and I should have been dead 10 years ago and I'm not.

- And you proved it wrong, and that's fantastic.

I should only be so lucky that I could have that kind of drive.

I think that's wonderful.

And now when we talk more about the rest of your background, do you have an education in science or teaching?

- I have a degree from Penn State in science.

- Okay.

- And I've been, everything is black and white.

That's my problem because in science, that's the way it is.

And it's taken me a long time to gray area on things.

- Well, I imagine that going out and seeing humanity in its most needed form, like people that need the most, that gray sort of becomes a little bit clearer, becomes a little bit more understandable.

- Right.

- For all of your experiences.

That's amazing.

And so obviously your education helps you when you went to go help with literacy and all of that.

And I'd imagine that when you see the science of medicine and watching it progress over these years, that's got to be very encouraging for you as well.

- Oh, definitely, and the way medicine is changing right now is I had radiation treatments for my prostate cancer and it totally destroyed me because they had no control on where that radiation was going.

And now they can get a pinpoint on the whole thing and I still hope they'll come up with a cure for prostate cancer and then I don't think they're that far away on the whole thing.

But one thing I do have to say is you have to be your own advocate when it comes to medicine, because doctors are so busy and they're so worried about getting sued and all the tests you have to run.

And you really have to watch what your doctor's doing, and you have to talk to your doctor.

He's gotta become your friend.

- Yeah and obviously your experience, you're able to share that with other individuals that are struggling with cancer.

- Right.

- And that you can inspire them to say, "This is what you should do, take it from me," that's amazing.

So if you're walking down the street one day and you see somebody that's got a brand new shaved head or somebody that's got a port and they are wanting to try to reach out and try to do something, what would you do?

What would you say to inspire them to volunteer?

- That's a tough question, but I've inspired people to work just by being friendly.

If I find out you have cancer, we're friends, so.

- That's all it needs to be for you, then that's excellent.

Because that's something that connects you.

That's something that you understand and I think people are eager for that.

They want that kind of connection, that understanding with another person.

We lost so much during the pandemic and now that we're coming back and trying to reform communities, you are an example of that inspiration to connect.

And we're so grateful for that.

We're thankful that you have that here in this community.

Now you said you were raised here rurally in.

- Oh, no, I wasn't raised there.

I was raised in Pennsylvania, - Okay, so you were a transplant to here?

- Yeah.

- Okay, so having moved to the north country and seen what we have here, have you seen a dramatic change in volunteering in the north country?

Have you seen it gotten better, get worse?

What are your thoughts?

- I think it's gotten worse.

- Really?

- Yes, I think it's worse because of the restrictions that are put on people who volunteer.

I mean, when you work for hospice, there's a lot of restrictions.

You can't feed a person because somebody passed away and there was a lawsuit.

And in cancer support groups, you have to have HIPAA and you have to follow the rules.

- So it can be tough to navigate a lot of those things.

- Right, right.

- Yeah.

So there are smaller ways to reach out, though.

There are smaller ways to help.

We've talked about that.

So reaching out to help plant a garden or to help just carry groceries or to help somebody go into their home and help them feel better, make them laugh, or smile.

- Right.

- So even those little ways, those are so important for us to try to reignite the passion for volunteering.

Thank you Dennis, so much for being with us here today.

We very much appreciate your service to the north country and we're grateful for it.

And we wish you many more years of success.

- Thank you, appreciate it.

(upbeat music) - We have Judith Gould with us.

She is an art and self-expression workshop leader at Providence Care Hospital Kingston.

Thank you so much for joining us today, Judith.

- Thank you.

- It's wonderful to have you here.

- Thank you for having me.

- And so we're gonna start right out.

We're gonna dive right in, tell me a little bit about your background and what inspired you in your life to start volunteering?

- Oh, well, I started volunteering when I retired from Kingston General Hospital where I'd worked for about 20 years.

And I was invited to become a volunteer in the mental health unit.

We have an acute mental health care unit there to do art and self-expression.

My background is as an artist, I started out in my degree as an artist, but then life happens and you go into other fields.

So I became actually an educator and worked in the healthcare system.

So I was very privileged to be invited to start these workshops with people who were inpatients.

And I think I knew that art had power, but I never realized until I started doing these what power it could have in enabling people to talk about their struggles, their illness, their recovery, mainly, the word I said we'd always hear every week is the word hope.

And so it became, I did it for seven years at the hospital.

Amazing, amazing.

- That's incredible.'

Now, it feels like you have a very, very deep connection to hope and supporting the mentally ill.

I understand that you've had some struggles with that in the past yourself.

- Yes, and as I was saying, the first time I ever talked about this in public was only a month ago because I worked my whole life.

I'd had a mental illness when I was in my thirties.

But you don't talk about that because of the stigma related to your illness.

And when I became ill, I was hospitalized for quite a long time.

When I left the hospital, I had lost everything.

My friends ran away.

I didn't have a home, fortunately I had a family that helped me, but my psychiatrist said to me, "Oh, don't bother working, don't try and work because you won't be able to manage it."

I was like 30 years old.

So I guess maybe I said, "Well, I don't think I wanna do that."

And then I had this most marvelous career for the next 40 years.

I had family, I had a successful business as a consultant.

So I sort of like to think that I defied the odds.

- You absolutely did.

And obviously that's rooted in your now giving back.

I understand that in these guided art and self-expression workshops, that these are for patients who are struggling with mental impairments and illnesses.

- Yes.

- Can you tell us a little bit about what those workshops are like?

- Yes, we always come with a theme.

So there's an idea.

I was working yesterday with a group and we created sort of a big card and the front said, "This is the outside me, this is the me that people see."

And it's pretty happy and strong.

And then on the inside I ask people to create what they are really feeling on the inside.

So that's an example, so we always have a theme.

I usually bring an example of something I've created to show them.

And sometimes they just wanna do anything.

They don't necessarily follow the exercise.

But the most important part is we do about 40 minutes of drawing or painting, and then we stop and we go around the table.

And if people wanna share what they did and what it means to them, then they're then able to talk.

Sometimes people don't wanna talk, fine, but that's where sort of the real, we call it, the magic of these sessions happens.

And the other great thing is people, the inpatient share amongst each other, their experiences.

And so they can relate to each other.

I think part of it, having had a mental illness, I think it gives you a different empathy and understanding.

- Well, that was going to be my very next question.

Because you have this empathetic way and that you have helped people go beyond the limits of their conditions, what does that mean for you personally?

- Oh, the most rewarding thing I've ever done, it is really unbelievable.

And sometimes people, I remember particular patients who've said to me, "This is the best thing I've been to, or the best conversation I've had since I came to the hospital."

So people say, "Wow, it must be rewarding for the patients."

But it's incredibly rewarding for, for me, - For you as the volunteer that you get to reach out and connect with all of these people and build those community bonds.

That's really outstanding.

And so you've made some serious impacts in your community.

I understand that you're very, very passionate about The United Way and our livable solutions, unhoused cabins?

- Yes, yes.

My very first donation through The United Way went to the city of Kingston to build some of the sleeping cabins that were established for people who are homeless in Kingston.

And That was a neat project and is still fortunately going on today.

So after three years, it's still going.

- Excellent.

- And that has been great, yes.

- Oh, wonderful, that is, now I understand that because of the struggle for homes and finding places for displaced people in the community, that that can really rock a community on its foundations.

So that must have affected you personally, having been through this sort of situation yourself, I imagine that this really inspires you to go out and raise the flag for it.

- Yeah, I think, I don't think you can really understand what it's like to be without a home.

I mean, we live an amazing, comfortable life.

And actually I renovated an old house in Kingston, in the downtown.

And I thought, "Wow, I'm so lucky to live here."

But then I would walk down the street and see people sleeping on the street and I said, "How long can I turn away from them without doing something?"

So I think that, and I'm lucky to be in the position to be able to make donations and be involved in those projects.

- So was there a point in your life maybe when you were a young child or somebody in your family that inspired you to want to give back?

Has that seed always been inside of you to give?

- I think so.

In the sense our family was not religious, but church going, I guess you might say.

And I think we were brought up with the idea that you help other people if you're fortunate enough yourself.

Yes, but of course, when you're working in your working life and you have a family, you don't really have time to devote to volunteering.

'cause you're scrambling to do your job and yeah.

- Right, but how lucky that you found this in your retirement?

- I know.

- Yeah.

- I was very lucky.

I have to credit my good friend and one of the senior leaders at Kingston General Hospital, Joe Holland Riley, she was the one who said, "I know you're perfect for this.

Come and start these workshops."

- Wonderful.

- It was really great.

- Now if you could say anything to inspire other retirees to come out and volunteer, what would you say?

- I would say that what you get back is so much more than what you give.

The reward for helping is so tremendous that it may, if you wanna feel happy, then volunteer.

- That's fantastic.

- That's what I would say.

- I think that's absolutely wonderful.

Now we're gonna go back to the gallery of the art, because that's fascinating.

You're an artist yourself.

You went and had an art degree there and all of that, yeah.

Is there a special standout moment that you have in those workshops that just is like when you think of it, you just get happy and it inspires you every time you think about it?

- There were several artists.

We created a gallery in the hospital just for art from the mental health unit with a great donation from a donor.

And there were several people, inpatients who did pieces of art that were so spectacular.

That's why I said, "We have to start a gallery."

And sometimes, I remember one time this man did this incredible drawing.

the theme was Bridge to Recovery.

How are you gonna get from where you are here to where you wanna be?

And he is amazing.

He could have been a professional artist.

And so I looked at this and I had to leave the room for a minute 'cause it was so spectacular.

- Oh, wow.

- And that was really, I would say that and there was one other man who did the most amazing abstract pastels.

So that's why we started the gallery, but those things always stay with you.

- That's fantastic.

- And I would just add that sometimes people come to the workshops and they go, "Well, I can't draw.

I'm not an artist.

I haven't done anything since I was in grade one."

And we go, "That's okay.

You don't have to be an artist to be here."

But then they create these spectacular pieces.

- And what a wonderful thing that you get to experience their creativity and discovery right alongside with them.

- Oh, it's amazing.

- As a fellow artist, I understand that when you can inspire somebody to do that, that just elevates your life completely.

That's fantastic, is the gallery still accessible or can people come and see it?

- Oh yes, the gallery with the art from the mental health unit is open to public.

It's on one of the major hallways and we have a little plaque there describing the process, how we did the art.

And we don't have anybody's name on, but it's still there.

People walk by there all the time.

They're always asking, can we buy these pieces?

And it's really been successful.

- Oh, that's remarkable.

- I think the main idea there is to try to combat the stigma that we have about mental illness.

If you're mentally ill, then you you're crazy and you're incapable and all of that.

But when people see that art, they go, "Wow, that's pretty incredible."

- Yeah, that's phenomenal.

So if anybody would like to come and volunteer where you volunteer, who do they reach out to?

- Well, the two places where I volunteer are Kingston General Hospital.

It's now called Kingston Health Sciences Center.

And then at the other hospital, Providence Care.

So all they have to do is call and ask for the volunteer services and they'd be welcomed.

- Wonderful, well, thank you so much, Judith.

We really appreciate you being there with us today, and we wish you much more continued success in your endeavors.

- Thank you so much.

- You're welcome.

(upbeat music) - It is a reminder that bears repeating.

No one achieves anything alone.

The world needs help, and even the smallest amount of help can change the course of a life.

We hope that you're inspired to go out into our world and become the helper that we're all looking for.

Thanks for watching.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) (bright music)