Sharon volunteers at many organizations, like the Kids in Need Resource Center in Cleveland, where she helps send school supplies to school districts in need.
When Sharon Desatnik was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2012, she suddenly found herself in need of care and didn’t have any choice but to retire from her job as a physical therapist at Menorah Park in Beachwood.
“This was after 30 years of being a caregiver, which I loved to do,” Desatnik said. “After the forced retirement, I was lost. Nothing I looked for suited me. And then one day, someone asked me to volunteer for a day at a Ronald McDonald House, and it was like a lightbulb went off. I used to volunteer a lot when I was younger, and that experience made me remember that I really loved volunteering.”
CJN: Where do you volunteer?
Desatnik: Because I am on disability, I am limited where I can volunteer. I started with the Ronald McDonald House, but now I volunteer at the Kids in Need Resource Center downtown, and it’s a program that supplies school supplies to districts that have over 65 percent of children on a subsidized lunch program.
Through my temple, I have done quite a bit. I work with my sisterhood. I also cook meals for the synagogue for people who are sitting Shiva, have had a baby or cannot cook. I also host at the temple.
I also go to InMotion, which is a Parkinson’s wellness center. I go there as a client, but I also volunteer in the spin class, where I set up people on the bikes and teach them how to use them. I also make calls to people who have hit hard times and try to keep in touch with them there, too. I started helping people on the bikes because I know how to do it. I also do some coaching in the older classes. I deliver books to the Shaker (Heights) library, too.
The point for me was that I was really lost when I retired, as I worked 55 hours a week. Volunteering has really become a ‘silver lining’ for me, it saved me. I went from a caregiver to needing care, and it inspired me to give back.
CJN: Why do you volunteer at the Kids in Need Resource Center?
Desatnik: I went to the Federation’s (Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s) volunteer morning and they had a volunteer open house with lots of different organizations. I wanted to find something to do because my walking is impaired. I wanted to find something I could do on a daily basis that is really enjoyable. There was really a wealth of things to do and (the Kids in Need Resource Center) just fell into my lap.
CJN: How did your diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease inspire you to volunteer within that community?
Desatnik: So many people help me and give me support – it has been a life-changing diagnosis. It ended my career and changed my relationship with my grandchild. But it has also given me the opportunity to give back. I was always caring for people and without helping others, I felt very diminished. I was lost and the first year of my diagnosis was just very hard. Volunteering in that community has really filled that need to help people. And in doing so, I help myself.
CJN: How has volunteering changed you and when did you start?
Desatnik: It’s the right thing to do and I have always done it. As I started working more and more, I was doing most of my giving back through work. Volunteering now just gives me an opportunity to start again.
My parents had us get involved in BBG (B’nai B’rith Girls) and our temple’s groups. When I came back to Cleveland from school, I didn’t know anyone. Volunteering has also helped me meet a number of friends, even now. It’s always been a push from my parents, and my mom was always involved in Jewish organizations and my dad would give blood. They wanted to give back in any way they could, and that just inspired me from a young age.
Desatnik said as the years go on, she’d love to do as much as she can within her physical limitations.
“I might start going to the resource center more and I will continue to volunteer through my synagogue,” she said. “I need to give back, especially if I continue to accept more help. I am only a whole person when I give back.”
https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/features/silver_linings/silver-linings-sharon-desatnik/article_3a56cda2-ce1a-11e7-a8c6-1f81f3cf11ab.html
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