BOULDER Matters Volume 25, No. 2 • SUMMER 2015
Story of HOPE
Friendly Visitor Program Helps Karyn and Sydell Find True Friendship
Boulder resident Karyn Schad, age
65, was diagnosed with a rare lung disease in 1999. She lived with the condition for 10 years before she had a double lung transplant, which saved her life. Many people in the Boulder Jewish community are familiar with Karyn’s story from her husband, Richard’s book: The Taste of Air: L.A.M: A Love Story. “When you go through a life-threatening period in your life, you definitely want to give back to the world and the community,” Karyn says. “A lung donor gave me the gift of life and to honor that person, I wanted to find ways to help other people.” Over the years, Karyn has volunteered for Boulder JFS by helping at some of the holiday celebrations the agency leads at senior communities. “I love talking with older people, so I talked to Ingrid Swords, Boulder JFS volunteer coordinator, about being a Friendly Visitor volunteer,” explains Karyn. At the time there wasn’t a client that would be a good match for Karyn, but Ingrid was on the lookout for the right person. Last spring, Ingrid called to tell Karyn she had met the perfect person for her to visit and asked if she wanted to meet her. Sydell Pannor, age 90, had recently moved to Boulder from Los Angeles after her husband passed away so she
could be near her family. Her daughter, Gerry, attended a grief support group that Boulder JFS co-facilitated a few months earlier, and learned about JFS’s Friendly Visitor program. Knowing that her Karyn and her granddaughter mother missed her at a recent Boulder JFS event. active social life in LA, she thought having a volunteer to provide companionship to her mom would be a great idea and Sydell agreed. Karyn recalls, “I called Sydell, introduced myself, and proposed that we meet. There was an instant connection!” Ingrid says, “Personality is the main thing I look at when matching clients and volunteers. Karyn and Sydell have the same kind of easy-going personality; they’re both interested in learning about other people, and are outgoing and social, so I thought they would click.” Not only have they clicked, but the two women have become close friends in the last year. continued on page 2
Boulder JFS, a program of Jewish Family Service of Colorado (JFS), provides Boulder-area Jewish seniors, their families, adults with disabilities, and individuals in crisis with services to enhance their quality of life and connect them to Jewish values, traditions, and community. JFS believes in strengthening the community by providing vital services to people in need. Founded in 1872, JFS is a nonsectarian, nonprofit human services agency serving metro Denver and Boulder.
Boulder Matters is published quarterly by Jewish Family Service of Colorado, 3201 S. Tamarac Dr., Denver CO 80231 www.jewishfamilyservice.org