When Jessica Johnson and Grace Pekala joined Lori’s Hands as student volunteers they knew it was an opportunity to spend time helping people in the community.
But what they didn’t expect was the feeling of family that quickly developed as a result of visiting client Edna Watt, one of the very first community members to join Lori’s Hands more than a decade ago. Between shopping for groceries, sending funny texts and making socially distanced visits, the trio has developed a thriving friendship – continuing a long line of Lori’s Hands volunteers smitten by Watt’s sunny personality.
“Yeah, we’re one of Edna’s girls now. That’s how her family knows us,” laughs Johnson, a medical diagnostics major at the University of Delaware. “We know about all the other Lori’s Hands girls who came before us. We all share something special by knowing Edna. She is like family to us.”
It’s a connection borne out of the simple act of being together. But as anyone with Lori’s Hands knows, there’s something magical about the time spent in service together.
“I was not expecting it to be as powerful as it is. I was just expecting to go grocery shopping, honestly. But it’s way more than that,” Pekala said. “Every week, I look forward to going and seeing Edna and catching up with her. It’s companionship. Honestly, it’s a true friendship.”
Pekala joined Lori’s Hands out of a love of volunteering. In the summer of 2020, with COVID-19 upending most activities, Pekala and Johnson began making socially distanced visits to Watt. They picked up her groceries and sat outside together while wearing face masks, listening to Watt’s stories about her life with her late husband, raising her children and what’s going on with the Lori’s Hands alumni she keeps in touch with.
Their visits with Watt have taught the volunteers how much the gift of time can mean to someone. In Pekala’s case, it also helped her recognize the professional path she wants to follow after graduation.
“I realized that I want to help people by talking to them. I love to talk to Edna and I love listening to her and her stories. So [Lori’s Hands] actually changed my mind and helped me realize I want to be a therapist,” she said.
Johnson said she loves every opportunity to interact with Watt, including one that was definitely a surprise.
“She texts us. You wouldn’t expect that because she’s 90 and you wouldn’t really expect a person to be that savvy at texting at that age, but she’ll always text us to check in,” said Johnson. “She draws you in because she has all these stories and she knows so many people. It’s definitely like an extra grandma.”
Although Johnson and Pekala were strangers when they were paired, the students quickly became friends, forever bonded by their Lori’s Hands experience.
“Now we’re best friends. I look forward to seeing Jess every week,” Pekala said. “We show up to Edna’s and we go grocery shopping and we laugh together and we talk about our lives and how school is going. That’s really something special.”
Each week, the pair know that no matter how much stress they’re feeling at school, they always have something – rather, someone – to look forward to. Watt will be waiting with two cold water bottles from the fridge and a fresh batch of stories to share.
“When you sign up for Lori’s Hands, you’re signing up for a time commitment and you know it.” Pekala said. “The volunteers truly want to help and you’re in it for the long run. You’re usually with the client for a while. You see them grow. And you grow with them. So for me, that’s what made the connection so strong.
“I’ve seen other people with their clients, and the connection is just as strong. So I know it’s not just me and Jess and Edna. I know it’s like that for my friend Adam and his client, Karen. I think it’s just something special about Lori’s Hands. Everyone loves the Lori’s Hands girls.”
