Pam Washek-Wayland Angels & Beyond
Hopefully all of our parishioners got to read about one of our parishioners, Pam Washek, in the April 15th edition of the Hellenic Voice. Entitled "In Search of Angels," Pam recounted her stage 3 sarcoma diagnosis in 2002 and subsequent recovery.
Pam, 38 years old, mother of 3 young daughters, would have been far more challenged to survive the grueling treatments and multiple surgeries this cancer presented without the overwhelming support of her husband, family, church, friends and neighbors.
This experience led her to build a network of volunteers in her hometown of Wayland, known as the Wayland Angels. This organization, now 400 volunteers strong, responds in kind to its neighbors beset by illness, injury or any tragic event. Wayland Angels volunteers have delivered more than 2,500 meals and countless rides, as well as other non-medical services such as dog-walking, babysitting, homework help, and daily visits to neighbors in temporary crisis.
Having developed a proven method of energizing and organizing volunteerism within local communities, Pam is now launching a non-profit organization, National Angels, that will provide the "how to" tools to new community coordinators interested in building their own volunteer communities. This national project is currently recruiting senior talent to help with non-profit strategic planning and is in active fund development. Learn more by visiting www.waylandangels.org.
Our parish family will keep following and supporting the growth of the Angel volunteer communities. If you are interested in building your own community, donating your time, talent, or supporting the launch, please contact Pam at mail@waylandangels.org or 508-545-1052.
