Volunteers
Volunteers are vital to The Little Red House. They play the piano and sing, provide pet therapy, play group games with participants and visit with them one-on-one, perform yard work, clerical work, and other chores, provide hospitality at our annual ice-cream social and assist with all the before, during, and after work of two major fundraising events. Because of the more than 1,000 hours of time and services we are honored to receive each year from our dedicated volunteers, The Little Red House is able to keep its fees affordable and welcome all our neighbors who need us with open arms.

Because we serve a vulnerable adult population, we conduct background checks of prospective volunteers and require they train with a staff member before working with participants.

Most of our volunteers will tell you that they get much more from our participants than they give. On this page are two stories about our volunteers.

Do you have time and a special talent or skill to offer The Little Red House? If you are interested in volunteering, please call Joan Wills-Birch, 846-5720 or e-mail joan@thelittleredhouse.org.

Generations Help Each Other
Youth volunteers are not unusual at The Little Red House. Many high-schoolers are regular helpers here. But our youngest volunteer, Alex Brower, is just ten years old. He began volunteering when he was nine.

Alex knew about the Little Red House because his grandmother had been a participant. But he never thought about how he could make a difference in the lives of participants until a chance card game with an elderly friend caused him to comment to his mother how much he enjoyed spending time with seniors. His mother suggested he might like to volunteer at the Little Red House, and he’s been riding his bicycle to volunteer here every Wednesday during the summer months for the past two years.

The photos above show Alex on one of his visits. When he arrived that Wednesday, 12 participants were seated in a circle eagerly awaiting him, and 12 faces smiled in greeting when he arrived. He played a variety of games, including beanbag toss and a sticky-ball target toss, encouraging each player and celebrating with them.

When asked what he gets from his volunteer role, Alex answered simply, “Courage.” He mused a while longer and then added, “And I think I give them a little courage, too.”

No Ordinary Dog—or Dog Owner
If you peer through the windows of The Little Red House on a Thursday afternoon, you might catch a glimpse of a 4-legged volunteer named Snickers. No ordinary pet, this 14-year-old Shih Tzu is proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Come to think of it, Snickers’ friend Charlie Edwards is proof of that, too.

Edwards and his wife Sue moved to Grand haven in 2002 from Chicago when he retired from a management career at Sears headquarters.They built a new home and, when that was done, Charlie got busy as an AARP volunteer, providing tax preparation and advice to seniors age 60 and up at Grand Haven senior center.

Then one day an ad attracted his attention. “Snickers,” he said, “we’re going back to school.”
Edwards and Snickers became certified through Therapy Dogs, Inc. Snickers has the paperwork to prove she is no ordinary dog, and Lakeshore Pet Therapy Registry matched the pair up with The Little Red House, where Snickers shows what she knows the minute she walks through the door (on a leash, of course).

“I just follow Snickers’ lead,” said Edwards. “She sense who needs her, and goes straight to that person.” Charlie always asks first if he can put Snickers in someone’s lap. Usually the answer is yes, but on participant covered her head with a blanket when she first saw Snickers. Her family explained that she had been frightened of dogs all her life.

Well, her lap isn’t off limits to Snickers anymore, because Snickers won her over. And she’s a welcome sight to many others, who tell Edwards about dogs they owned and loved.

“Charlie really gets it,” says Joan Wills-Birch, who schedules and supervises volunteers. “Nothing throws him. He’s a wonderful volunteer and participants look forward to his visits—and Snickers, of course.”