"The Interview Project" Featuring (Waterloo Senior of the Year) Janet Hoffman
Janet Hoffman’s volunteer activities involve helping new Canadian families to adjust to life in their new community. Most of the people with whom she works are refugee families who are in Waterloo through the work of the Mennonite Coalition. Many have fled horrible experiences in their home countries, and arrive here with little, and have come for a better life for their children. One of their goals is usually to send what little money they earn to support their families in their home countries. Many of the most recent immigrants are Eritrean.
WHAT VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCES ARE YOU MOST PASSIONATE ABOUT IN YOUR LIFE?
Janet wins their trust through acts of kindness and helpfulness – finding furniture, having conversations over coffee and Janet’s home-made treats, answering questions, finding solutions. These are not short-term projects but relationships that must develop over time with trust building on both sides. Janet finds the entire process extremely rewarding.
WHAT ASPECTS OF SERVING YOUR COMMUNITY AND GIVING BACK ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU? WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO HELP IN THESE WAYS?
Janet acknowledges that she has a privileged life – a husband of many years, a rewarding career, a grown and successful family and by comparison to the people she helps, a financially secure existence. She believes that she has been given so much that she should share what she has with others.
When Janet discovers the needs of the residents of Sunnydale Community or immigrants in other parts of the city, she mobilizes her extensive network of friends and like-minded people to fill the needs – bunk beds, babysitting, language education, counselling, and so on. Janet and her friends know that the work that they do goes directly to the people in need. They want to give back and to enrich the community, and helping immigrants to integrate successfully is one of the goals.
During the pandemic this past summer, Janet has continued to meet in the Monday morning coffee sessions with members of the immigrant community. Late in August, a member of the community died of heart complications leaving two teenagers on their own. Within days, and with help from Janet and her team, the boys had moved into a neighbour’s home. What they needed were beds, and Janet was there to help. Janet says that events like this enlarge her faith in God: people helping people selflessly.
WHAT IS SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE WOULD NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU?
Janet said that –before the recognition of the Senior of the Year award – even her children were not aware of how much she did in volunteering her time and experience. When she sees that something needs to be done, she leaps into action. As a self-described “freelance volunteer”, Janet is not specifically aligned with any particular group. When she sees a need, she acts.
WHAT WOULD YOU WANT FUTURE GENERATIONS TO KNOW ABOUT THESE EFFORTS? WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU SHARE WITH THEM?
Janet’s kind of volunteerism is life altering, and extremely gratifying. At 72 years old, Janet has been involved with the immigrant community for more than 15 years. The respect that she has earned has come from hours of relationship-building, and the friendships that she has made are long-lasting.
As people retire, they need to find something where they can be involved. Janet’s life has been enriched by her volunteerism, and the rewards of meeting the needs of a vulnerable population. The thanks, smiles and trust from her friends in the immigrant community are reward enough.
WHAT WOULD YOU WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT THE PROCESS OF AGING THAT YOU FEEL IS CURRENTLY MISUNDERSTOOD WITHIN SOCIETY?
Janet says that this is the best time of her life. The children are gone and successful; her income is stable and sufficient; her time is her own. Through her freelance volunteering, Janet has found life-changing and fulfilling rewards helping others.
When people finally retire and have the time to do other things, she recommends that people answer the question, “What flows from your heart? What is the interest that means the most to you and will affect and benefit others?”
WHAT ASPECT OF YOUR LIFE ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?
Without pausing to think about this question, Janet responded that her greatest joy is the number of diverse people she has met and knows through her volunteer work. She has been inspired by the spirit of community in the immigrant neighbourhoods, and that people – regardless of where they are from – share the same interests and concerns: being a good mother, providing nutritious meals, helping neighbours, wanting the best for your children, and so on.
WHAT DOES AGE MEAN TO YOU?
Janet said that energy comes when you’re living your passion. Age is less important than sharing the wisdom that comes from experience. Being active and contributing in concrete ways to the lives of others makes questions of age irrelevant. She related the story of two young women in this community who had been victims of domestic violence. When Janet realized that the women were younger than her own adult children, her concern was intensified. Such feelings have nothing to do with age but everything to do with humanity.