As a general care physician in the Navy and then as an occupational and preventive medicine provider with Emory Healthcare, Bill Yang realized patients sought just one thing from him: Time.
“That’s what patients wanted — my time. And to them, that was one of the most important things that I could give them,” Yang told the AJC. “I was lucky that I was in positions where I didn’t have to put a value on that.”
He’s carried that idea forward in his current volunteer work with the Fulton County Library system. He’s one of 577 seniors that make up the system’s nearly 2,000-strong volunteer body, according to Fulton County Library System Volunteer Services Manager Heather Staniszewski.
Delivery of sustenance or education or just a little human connection: Opportunities for volunteerism abound, and like Yang, other seniors are often in a prime position to give back in their communities. Volunteering lends itself to the adjustable schedule these oft-retired community members frequently have, but flexibility aside, the urge to serve others is simply prevalent among locals age 55 and over. Here’s how Atlanta’s seniors are showing up and connecting with their communities.
A vibrant conversation
Marvin Hester has developed a vibrant correspondence with a senior in need of connection via the Atlanta Regional Commission’s One2One Telephone Reassurance Program over the past few months.
They’ve covered a lot of ground: Her past, family, life circumstances and loss. The program requires Hester, 59, to check in with his phone companion for 15 minutes each week, but they often talk for 45 minutes or more. This relationship has taken off, but finding the right connection has taken persistence on Hester’s part. The first senior he contacted just wasn’t interested in connecting, and after a few tries, he turned the situation over to his upline.
It can be difficult, Hester said, to see his current conversation partner struggling to find help with everyday things.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
“Speaking with her, it’s just like I’m talking to family,” he said. When I know that she has a need, and I can feel it, I can’t do it because I don’t want to cross boundaries.”
Although he can’t personally fulfill every need, Hester can make suggestions regarding resources like USPS Informed Delivery and heating assistance. His friend, he said, is “well-versed” and has been able to take things forward from those jumping-off points.
They talk about lots of life happenings, from family photos lost in a flood to doctor’s visits. Hester gets a lot out of the conversations, too.
“We talk about her doctor visits,” he said. “Sometimes, they’re just hysterical — I mean the things that she says happen during a doctor visit — it just makes my day.”
The One2One program, he pointed out, allows volunteers to give back from virtually anywhere since they don’t need to be on site. As is the case with many local volunteers, this isn’t Hester’s first gig. He’s also worked on distributing food for his church, Habitat for Humanity and on events at Emory Healthcare during his two decades there as a revenue cycle manager.
He emphasized the ageless nature of most volunteer opportunities.
“The thing is, you don’t have to be elderly to do this,” he said. “To give — anybody can do this.”
Behind the scenes
Sometimes, opportunities come in a form that doesn’t put participants in direct contact with program recipients. That model has worked well for Jules Hornsby, 59.
She currently coordinates the Meals on Wheels for Pets program that serves recipients through Senior Services north Fulton. She’s been involved with the effort since 2015, working monthly on sorting and labeling pet food.
“My background was in accounting so I’m kind of detail-oriented, and I just really enjoyed it,” she said.
She’s also an animal person, having owned four dogs. She spends about 10 hours a month performing a range of duties. She reaches out to all delivery volunteers to make sure they’re available for their routes, and she manages substitutes when necessary. She also tracks and sorts inventory — pet food and litter — that comes in from volunteer shopping trips and donations.
Credit: Contributed by Jules Hornsby
Credit: Contributed by Jules Hornsby
The delivery area, she said, stretches from Sandy Springs to Roswell and Johns Creek, and spans seven routes. Volunteers tend to stay a long time.
“We don’t have much turnover, and we probably need a substitute once every month or two,” Hornsby said. “These are individuals that love what they’re doing and very rarely skip.”
The thing that keeps Hornsby returning is the knowledge that she may be helping someone hang on to an animal companion.
“I like knowing that I’m helping the seniors keep their pets and have that bond,” she said. “It’s extremely gratifying and important that we’re able to help them keep maintaining their pets.”
In-person interaction
It’s one-on-one connection that’s led Yang to volunteer with the Fulton County Library System since 2022. He’s on site at the Buckhead, Northwest and Kirkwood branches at least once a week apiece.
Between his early academic career, medical school and the Navy, he spent a lot of time in libraries; they became a familiar constant.
“When I was in the Navy, when I would get to new duty stations particularly overseas, it was always a place to go to kind of relax, read, do whatever,” he said. “I always felt at home in the library, always felt like I spent a lot of time there, and this was an opportunity to give back, so to speak. And it was fun.”
He began at the Buckhead Branch reshelving books. He learned that children’s books, with their long, narrow spines, often get left out.
“You get a rack of those, and that’s like 50 or 60 books, whereas you get a rack of adult books, it’s like 10 or 12,” he said.
He started interacting with the public more at Kirkwood helping with children’s events — everything from setup to helping apply washable tattoos. He recently supported a Chinese New Year reading at the Northwest branch, bringing in stickers for the kids and curating books for the program host.
Limited funding has been a factor he’s seen as an opportunity to assist.
“I know that they’re on limited budgets,” he said. “Sometimes, I look at the challenge of what they’re trying to do, and I know I can find stuff online that’s inexpensive that I could provide for them to help with the experience.”
The in-person interaction and the flexibility make the experience worthwhile and sustainable.
“For me, it’s a fun thing to do,” he said. “As I’m retired, I have the time. It’s not something that I have to do every day, and if I am unavailable, I just tell them I’m unavailable. I get as much out of it, probably, as they hopefully get out of me.”
The libraries seem to feel the same about Yang as he feels about them. The system recognized him as Adult Volunteer of the Year in 2024.
Credit: Contributed by Fulton County
Credit: Contributed by Fulton County
Would-be volunteers, he said, should consider their skill sets, the amount of interaction they want and what they actually want to do.
“I would tell them to think about what they like to do and if they are also seeking the social piece of it,” he said. “There are lots of opportunities to volunteer that involve that, and likewise, if that is not exactly what they want there are other things that you can do for organizations that don’t necessarily require that.”
A new experience, he said, is worth a try, as is the idea that it may not be a forever gig.
“Go ahead and try it,” he said. “It’s not like you’re going to have to do this for the rest of your life if it turns out that it’s not what you envisioned or what you want. You can just easily back out of it. But at the same time, many organizations are very happy to have people who are willing to give what is probably the most valuable thing that we look for, and that’s other people’s time.”
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