Lauren S.

Lauren S. is a valuable volunteer with At Home by High, having lived in Columbus for quite a few years. This city, however, is not where her love of service first began.

After graduating from The Ohio State University, Lauren moved to Washington D.C., where she worked to build her career and find out more about the world. Unexpectedly, most of this came from her time with her church community.

The more time she spent in D.C., the more she found that many of the older adults involved in her church were struggling. Without a second thought, she jumped in headfirst, doing everything from helping them take their communion to making home visits.

As time went on, however, something began to call her back home. As a better career move and a way to be closer to her family, she came back to Columbus, where she began working as both a Corporate lead of Bath & Body Works and full-time caretaker of her mother.

Not entirely sure that she had the capacity to return to service, she focused instead on expanding her gratitude and zest for life. She said that she is thankful for a city like Columbus, which has been immensely “creative and intellectually stimulating.”

Eventually, though, she realized something was missing. Her discovery of At Home by High came through Facebook, where Katie Beaumont (AHBH’s Executive Director) was being honored by USA Today as a “Hometown Hero.”

Deciding to take a step back towards the world of community aid, she not only became a volunteer, but also enrolled her mother as a member.

Now, in-between her Reiki and Yoga practices, she bolsters our community in every way she knows how, understanding that isolation is one of the hardest things that aging adults can face. Her main effort, whether it be enjoying a Happy Hour with our members or helping with a garden day, is to make all of our members feel comfortable and happy—and not to mention, self-sufficient.

One of Lauren’s favorite moments with AHBH was with a member who has since passed away. While working in the garden last summer with the late Xing Qing Pan, the two noticed that there was a small bird who was hurt, and couldn’t fly. Over a couple weeks, Lauren watched as Pan carefully nursed the bird back to health and released it into the wild.

Reminiscing on all of her experiences with AHBH, Lauren finally said “these are my people.” She also shared that when you volunteer, “you see the impact of companionship and connectivity—how people are able to live independent lives.”

To Lauren, this is what care and support truly means; it’s why she knows she has made the right decision in returning to the service world. And believe us when we say—she’s never going to let it go.