Edward L. Stickels began volunteering at Northwest Community Hospital Adult Day Care Center once a week because ”I feel I have been a very lucky guy all my life and I wanted to give back to others all the warm and kind things people have done for me.”
That was a year ago. Today, Stickels feels he is on the receiving end of his volunteer work. ”I sit around and chat with the folks, and I know I am getting a whole lot more out of it than they do,” says the 61-year old former United Airlines pilot.
Becky Vasilakis disagrees with Stickels. With her brow furrowed but a smile on her lips, Vasilakis shakes her head from side to side. ”No, Ed,”
she gently admonishes, ”you really help our clients in ways that we cannot.”
The perky 36-year old Vasilakis notes that ”so many adult day-care providers are women. Having a man around here is great for our few male clients.” And she allows, ”The woman love Ed because he listens to their stories, too.”
Stickels is a consummate listener. Perched on the edge of his seat, he hears Roberta Lucas as she recalls how she and her husband worked for the railroad decades ago. ”I hear history first hand from some of the older residents,” says Stickels.
Stickels enjoys the tales the men tell him too: ”I was too young for World War II, but I feel I have experienced that war from the stories I have been told.”
From 77-year old Victor Uryasz, Stickels learns the life of a steam-fitter in Chicago`s stockyards. ”Some guys were bricklayers, others truck-drivers,” says Stickels. ”I get to experience a lot of different
occupations by just listening.”
Stickels recommends others try a stint at volunteering at an adult day-care center. ”It`s a wonderful way to learn about the past. I think it`s better than a book,” says the Arlington Heights resident as he turns to hear 93-year-old Ada Reynolds talk about her life in Alton, Ill., almost a century ago.
