Blanar finds fulfillment in volunteer activities.
Submitted by jcht2010 on
Volunteerism is often regarded not as something that one does, but something that one has; something intrinsic to the nature of a person. Volunteers are natural caretakers, who give their time, their tears, and often their money to causes important to them, and Jo Ann Blanar is no different.
Jo Ann is presently the president of Memory Gardens cemetery, and has served on the board for four years. She volunteers for Relay for Life, a well known organization that raises money for cancer research. In the past, she served as a volunteer ombudsman at Southbrooke Manor. An ombudsman, put simply, is an advocate for fair and just treatment. A nursing home ombudsman visits nursing homes residents and tries to help ensure they’re being treated fairly and kindly.
To Blanar, the nursing home residents weren’t just people she watched out for. They were her friends.
“It is a really stressful job sometimes, because you get really attached to the residents,” she said.
As an advocate for the elderly, Blanar not only visited them, but ran to the store for them, brought them supplies they may need, and many other things they couldn't do for themselves. She said she enjoyed her years as an ombudsman, but her calling changed a few years ago.
“I got involved with Relay for Life,” she said, “I do that because I had a brother that died of cancer, and my husband has prostate cancer. It’s in remission, but you know, it’s always with you, hanging over you.”
Blanar tried her hand at retirement for a while, but said she didn’t find it fulfilling. After 37 years working in the Jackson County Tax Office, and a year in retirement, she returned to her former workplace part time, and continued to volunteer at every opportunity.
“I didn’t like retirement,” she said, “I have been back part time for about 15 years or so. I like to be around people. I like to know what’s going on. When I retired I had fun for about a year and then I thought, ‘what am I going to do?’”
Blanar finds fulfillment in all her volunteer work, and loves the fundraising Relay for Life allows her to take part in as part as the Jackson County team.
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