Congratulations to Barbara Hendershot, our March Volunteer of the Month! Barbara is a fantastic volunteer and has been instrumental in raising funds for our chapter on the Eastern Shore.
Barbara first connected with our chapter after attending the Eastern Shore Walk to End Alzheimer’s® about 7 years ago with her husband Charles. Her husband had been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Only a year after their first walk, Charles was moved to Heritage Hall Nursing Center to receive full-time care. Barbara visited her husband daily and met Robin Sexaur, an Alzheimer’s Association volunteer, during these visits. The two became friends and Robin convinced Barbara to join our chapter’s Eastern Shore Alzheimer’s Leadership Council. Since then, Barbara has volunteered to help organize her local Walk to End Alzheimer’s. To raise money for the walk, Barbara places over 30 collecting jars all over the Eastern Shore every walk season. She also loves to sell car raffle tickets and hopes that maybe this year she will sell the winning ticket! Barbara enjoys the work associated with the walk as she loves to stay busy and connect with people who have also been impacted by Alzheimer’s disease.
Unfortunately, Charles passed away in 2016, just a few months shy of their 65th wedding anniversary. Barbara and Charles had grown up together in New Jersey. They met in high school and got married when Barbara was only 16 and he 18. They built their home together with the help of family and friends. As a couple, Barbara and Charles did everything together. They even took a trip across the United States and Canada, living out of a motor home for several weeks together. About 20 years ago, they moved from New Jersey to Schooner Bay to better pursue their love of fishing and other activities. While Barbara still misses her husband, she looks back on their life together fondly and enjoys telling stories of their adventures with her children and grandchildren. Barbara loves to travel to visit her family who are now scattered across the country. She especially loves visiting Florida and taking cruises with her family. Barbara loves cruises for relaxing and wearing fun vacation dresses. Her favorite destinations so far include Aruba and St. Thomas.
Now Barbara likes to stay busy as an avid volunteer in the Eastern Shore community. In addition to her involvement with our chapter, Barbara also volunteers at Heritage Hall and loves to help residents find whatever they may need when they go on shopping trips together. She also volunteers as an after-school tutor for children in preschool and kindergarten. She loves to help the young students with their homework and entertains them with games.
A profile of Barbara would not be complete without mentioning her special connection to swans. Barbara often wished for swans to come swim in their cove in Schooner Bay. Amazingly, after her son passed away at the young age of 27, two swans landed in their cove and stayed for about two years. This was a special sign to Barbara as her son had given Barbara two lovely glass blown swans as a gift before he had passed. Now she displays a beautiful lighted swan on her front yard at Christmastime for all of her neighbors to enjoy.
We are so fortunate to have Barbara as a dedicated volunteer with our Chapter! To learn more about how you can volunteer, please visit our website at https://www.alz.org/seva/in_my_community_104988.asp
Alzheimer's Association Southeastern Virginia Chapter 