In The Mayflower Community (Grinnell IA), many volunteer residents working as part of the Mayflower Residents Association (MRA) handle the welcoming and acclimating of new independent living residents to the community.
“Hosts” and “Guides” were feted at a brunch on Monday, December 2nd. MRA President-Elect, Gene Wubbels, who will assume the presidency in January, thanked the 40 or so attendees for the roles they performed in 2019 and have committed to in 2020. Each of the 24 new Mayflower residents in 2019 were support by one or two hosts and a guide.
Hosts have two general responsibilities. They personally welcome new residents to their “neighborhoods” (apartment buildings, Watertower Square, or Harwich Terrace patio homes). Later, the host schedules time with the new resident(s) for instruction about how things work—trash, recycling, storage lockers, mail, sources of information, staff contacts, use of common areas, etc. The hosts also make reservations for the new residents at the monthly “Neighborhood Luncheons,” where multiple Mayflower neighborhoods gather for lunch and conversation.
Guides are tasked with the responsibility of explaining in detail how facets of Mayflower are accessed and used. This is accomplished with a thick three-ring binder full of Mayflower information, all the way from resident contact information to how to access nursing services in the event of a health episode. In addition, the guides take the new residents on a tour of the entire Mayflower campus—various neighborhoods, tunnels, skywalk, Health Center, Beebe Assisted Living, dining and meeting rooms, Obermiller Fitness Center, Mini-Gift Shop, Kiesel Theatre, administrative offices, MRA conference room and work space, book and CD libraries, lounges, and gardens.
Speaking about all the volunteer roles played at Mayflower, President-Elect Wubbels shared his own personal story of commitment. He stated that during the first three years that his wife Joyce and he lived at Mayflower, he had limited involvement in MRA activities. When asked if he would consider becoming the President-Elect, Gene said he reminisced about the 18 years his mother lived at Mayflower and about all the people who enhanced her life while here. Gene said, “How could I not take a role in this?”
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