Devoting time to the Florence Sylvester Senior Center in Laguna Hills has led two former volunteers to positions of leadership.
Pat Kenefick, director of activities and programs, came to her new duties as an outgrowth of time spent at the center’s front desk. Ellen Dupuy, the new community relations manager, became a volunteer after coming into the center to drop off flyers for a gem and mineralogy society.
Kenefick began with a Meals on Wheels route, then worked at the front desk of the senior center, becoming its coordinator.
When former center director Aimee Roberts left last June, Kenefick stepped into the breach. She was offered the job as director of activities and programs as a permanent part-time position.
Her appreciation and care for seniors, however, have been part of her life for much longer.
“My grandmother and great-grandmother were influential women while I was growing up, and my mother taught me to always do something good for others and the world,” Kenefick said.
During her teen years and as a young adult, she volunteered at senior living communities, visiting older adults and helping them participate in activities.
Kenefick sees herself as a member of the “sandwich generation,” one who was taking care of her ailing mother while working and raising her daughter.
“I was a caregiver for my mother for almost 10 years,” she said. “My mother came to live with me when I was pregnant with her first and only grandchild, while she was recovering from lung cancer.”
The three spent many days together negotiating doctors’ appointments along with physical therapy, pulmonary therapy and cardiac rehab sessions.
“I knew it was important to spend as much time doing fun things with Mom as she was on borrowed time,” Kenefick said.
They attended story readings for her daughter, events at the Mission Viejo senior center, art classes, dances and many musical theater shows in addition to tea house outings.
“These activities were so important to help…
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