Blessings upon blessings
Serving as director of senior services for Livingston County Catholic Charities for more than a decade, Suzi Snyder is no stranger to coordinating programs and volunteers, all with the aim of meeting the needs of one of the often marginalized groups of society: senior citizens. Suzi has long had a heart for the elderly and says she first worked in a nursing home and then earned her health care administrative degree, which led her to private home health care where she worked for 20 years. Sensing more of a mission-driven opportunity in working with Catholic Charities, Suzi jumped at the chance to serve seniors with the organization. “There’s something about the older population. I always loved being around my grandparents and the neighbors of my grandparents. Seniors are just a part of my heart. They are kind of the forgotten population.”
Serving as director of senior services for Livingston County Catholic Charities for more than a decade, Suzi Snyder is no stranger to coordinating programs and volunteers, all with the aim of meeting the needs of one of the often marginalized groups of society: senior citizens. Suzi has long had a heart for the elderly and says she first worked in a nursing home and then earned her health care administrative degree, which led her to private home health care where she worked for 20 years. Sensing more of a mission-driven opportunity in working with Catholic Charities, Suzi jumped at the chance to serve seniors with the organization. “There’s something about the older population. I always loved being around my grandparents and the neighbors of my grandparents. Seniors are just a part of my heart. They are kind of the forgotten population.”
In her role with Catholic Charities, Suzi oversees six senior programs ranging from a “be our guest” day care for those with cognitive impairments to home maintenance and upkeep, and from elder abuse prevention to a community liaison program. One of the biggest programs, the Christmas Blessing Project, happens just once a year yet includes more than 200 volunteers who contribute nearly 1,000 collective volunteer hours. During the Christmas season, when a good deal of community outreach is rightly focused on families and children, Suzi and her army of volunteers make sure that the “forgotten population” is not forgotten in Livingston County. Diocesan Services Appeal (DSA) dollars donated by the faithful around the Diocese of Lansing, paired with the generosity of hundreds of local people, allow Suzi and her team the means to package, organize, and distribute nearly 300 Blessing Baskets in time for Christmas.
“Blessing Baskets started almost 30 years ago with a farmer who had potatoes that he didn’t want to spoil,” Suzi notes. “So, he got in touch with Catholic Charities.” That simple act of generosity was the catalyst that sparked the Christmas Blessing Project, a tradition of service that continues today. “We are the only entity that does something like this for seniors,” Suzi says, “and many of the men and women who receive the baskets tell us that our basket of food, paper items, cleaning products, personal care items, and a simple gift of a blanket and warm socks is the only Christmas gift they receive. Many of them wait until Christmas to open the gift.”
Suzi and her volunteers are met with overwhelming gratitude and receive cards and phone calls of thanks. The deliveries of the baskets are often received with tearful eyes. “The seniors are very thankful and appreciative. It’s not just a box of food and goods; it’s something they look forward to and a connection to a community that remembers them.”
And while Suzi dedicates countless hours over several weeks a year to making the baskets a reality, she humbly credits DSA dollars and her generous volunteers for making the baskets possible. “The DSA donations have a huge impact on our seniors. Those dollars allow me to purchase items that these people can’t get any other way. And our volunteers who deliver the baskets don’t just drop off a box; they go in and visit and talk. One of them even shoveled a driveway the other day.”
Suzi says it is her mission to be sure that the people they serve are met with dignity and are honored as members of the community. “My hope for people receiving baskets is that they are relieved of the financial burden that so many of them carry and also that they know they are not forgotten. When I see the tables full of items going out in baskets it hits me that this all comes from the community. It warms my heart. The big picture of it is that we are able to do this because of the help of so many people.”
“This reality,” Suzi says, “is the Church at her best. This is the community. And now these seniors know that the community still cares.”
