Belle Garfinkel started volunteering at the Jewish Home and Care Center when Golda Meir was prime minister of Israel and Richard Nixon was president of the United States.
She continued volunteering as the world around her changed and she did not stop for almost 40 years.
Her service revolved around the simple but significant task of listening to the home’s senior residents. She came ready to appreciate their lifetime of stories. She brought her warm smile and perhaps a cup of tea to people whose lives were slowing down and whose health was declining.
In the last two years, Garfinkel, now 107, volunteered 132 hours, bringing her total contribution to thousands of hours of bikkur holim, the commandment of visiting the sick. A few months ago, a broken hip forced her to stop her regular visits but she is so spry that she said, “I expect one of these days, I’ll be back.”
Garfinkel was recognized on May 22 for her outstanding volunteerism by the Milwaukee County Senior Citizen Hall of Fame. She is only the second recipient of its Century of Service award.
Despite this and other accolades, she is very modest about her volunteering, saying simply, “I got married and I had time.” She considers her record of volunteer work unremarkable. “I’m just an ordinary person. I didn’t do anything exciting that other people haven’t done,” she said.
She lives independently in her own apartment and even cooks and bakes with enough energy to try a new chocolate cake recipe. “I like to read but there’s a point where you have to be a little useful,” she said.
Garfinkel was one of seven children and has lived all of her 107 years in Milwaukee County, but speaks German and Yiddish fluently. She raised three children and worked as a secretary before embarking on her volunteering.
Nita Corré, president of the Jewish Home and Care Center Foundation, has known Garfinkel for over 30 years. Corré said Garfinkel was never looking for any recognition and that “her only wish was to make the residents of the home happier by her presence.”
“She is one of the quiet treasures in our community. A lot of people know her but they may not really know the impact she has had. We were really blessed by her presence,” said Corré.
For most of her years, Garfinkel served primarily as a “day hostess,” or friendly visitor. She visited residents, pouring tea for them in their rooms and chatting. Though tea is no longer poured in rooms, the core experience of visiting remains essential.
“Volunteering is vital because there are so many things a volunteer contributes to the life and vibrancy of the home,” said JHCC marketing director Marlene Heller. “Even just going in to visit is important — for some people, these are the only visitors a person gets.”
The volunteers also help keep an informal watch on resident health during regular visits. For example, they might notice that someone is more listless or has less appetite than last week. They are an informal part of the team care provided by the home.
In 2007, when the home underwent renovations, Garfinkel took on the role of “move maven” and welcomed residents back to the Prospect Avenue facility from the temporary Mequon building.
In addition to her role at the home, Belle has also volunteered extensively throughout the community. In the 1940s, before the founding of the State of Israel, she began volunteering for Zionist causes. She has volunteered extensively with the Milwaukee chapter of Hadassah and recalls soliciting for the Jewish National Fund.
“We used to have [JNF] blue boxes for Israel. I’d have a youngster in school and a youngster in the stroller and we visited homes of people I knew and picked up money,” she said.
In 2005, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation recognized Garfinkel’s years of service with its Kesselman Senior Service Award.
Jill Rothenbueler Maher is a Milwaukee-based freelance writer.
Loading ...