WHAT MEMBERS SAY ABOUT ASHBY VILLAGE
GERRY A.
Feeling at home at Ashby Village
“I went to a Sunday afternoon Living Room Chat. I even gave up a day of football to go, so I was serious! They answered a lot of my questions. They had a member talking about personal experience, which was what I wanted to hear. For me it was all just entirely satisfying. I felt right at home immediately.” Read more.
DIANE & DON
North Berkeley Neighborhood Group Coordinators
“I am always concerned about members getting isolated without the help they might need. One of my goals is to check in on inactive members", says Don. Read more.
TOBEY K.
“One reason neighborhood groups are working so well is that they really help us to get to know people in our own neighborhoods,” says Tobey Klein, who started the Emery Bunch neighborhood group with other founding members about five years ago. Read more.
MARY JO P.
Member and volunteer Mary Jo Powell loves contributing to Ashby Villages’ mutual support and community---sort of like the small town where she grew up. Read more.
roger p.
An Ashby Village one-year membership was the holiday gift that Roger pitched in December 2016 to his three children. They came through! What were his expectations? “I was curious. Clearly, a movement is going on." Read more.
mairin m.M.
Looking back on her own reasons for joining, Mairin remembers thinking “maybe I could be helpful to others.” As it turned out, “I got much more than I gave.” Read more.
JANET M.
"Pat, I loved having your team and you here to wash my windows both inside and out. In addition to the service (and the windows do look beautiful!) it was just fun and such a nice group. Thanks so much once more - that great name "Hearts and Hands" says so much in just a few words, and the joy which you spread to the three volunteers. Thanks again. Janet"
ANNETTE H.
"Dear Jean, Thanks so much for being a volunteer! I really appreciated the ride to and from Carol's home for the Puzzle event. They are a great group of gals and working the puzzle is fun. It's people like you that makes Ashby Village so special!" Annette
hugh H.
"Dear AV, I'm writing to express particular appreciation for an Ashby Village volunteer. Melissa has provided invaluable help in solving mysteries in the operation of my automatic sprinkler system. Her knowledge in this area (and gardening, generally) and enthusiasm are a rare resource and perfectly suited to my request for assistance. Ashby Village and its members are fortunate to have them both as volunteers. Regards,
Hugh"
bill and tari F.
“We had our first encounter with using the Ashby Village referral system. We needed a good reliable plumber, and SOON. Our kitchen sink was flooding and we couldn't find where the leak was coming from. We called Ashby Village and they gave us several referrals, including Naomi the Plumber. She was just what we needed, and she also fixed a five-year- long slow seepage on an outside pipe, all within half an hour!” --
Tari and Bill F.
joan c.
"My husband and I joined Ashby Village, excited by the concept and eager to discover what it might have to offer. My husband's wish to complete a memoir has been made possible by an amazing woman who is volunteering to help him finish work that he can no longer complete on is own. Michelle McGuinness now comes once a week and we have together crafted a form that works for Bob, and that promises completion of the project. An oral history, which will likely be transcribed into written form as well, is well underway. Michelle arrives with her Smart Phone and is videotaping stories which Bob will soon present to our family. This is incredibly satisfying to both of us, and we are so grateful to Ashby Village for finding Michelle and to the time she is donating to his work." -- Joan Cole
bob d.
“I want to thank Ashby Village for responding to my request and making a volunteer available to my wife during my brief trip to Maine following my brother's death and being with my sister during this grieving period. My wife Merle has been recovering from hip replacement surgery, and it gave me peace of mind to know she had someone to call if necessary. This is exactly what we had hoped for when we joined Ashby Village.” --Bob Davis
irene m.
“Frozen yogurt delivery, prunes and prescription pick-up, pastries and tulips, split pea soup, cookies, caring professional advice from nurse and a social worker all came my way through Ashby Village. I want to thank Thelma Peck, Marion Anderson, Elaine Hooker and Charlotte Herzfeld who played such an important role in helping me heal after surgery on my knee. This is another example of the assistance the Village can provide and I want to call out the names of these wonderful women to whom I am so grateful. “ -- Irene Marcos
herrick and elaine j.
“We're some of those people who say that we don't yet need the help to remain in our homes. We're only 65 and 70! But we joined Ashby Village even before we moved here because we believe in the concept and want to help ensure there is such a service for others in the community. It's also an excellent way to meet people with common interests. Lo and behold, after we moved, the tags we so carefully put on our stereo before leaving Connecticut made a lot less sense once we tried to put the components back together. Ashby Village to the rescue. Volunteer Raynard Lozano set up our stereo in about an hour's time. We also attended the luncheon at Filippo's, so got to meet a few Ashby Village members. Although we moved to Berkeley to be near some of our children--our own"village"--we look forward to watching Ashby Village grow.” --Herrick and Elaine Jackson
marcia f.
“Shortly after joining the Village, I needed to re-hang art after a paint job. Since I don't climb ladders anymore, I needed help. I thought about using the Village's concierge service to get a volunteer, but I found myself hesitating to do so for weeks on end. I finally made the call after struggling with myself to ask for help, and the next day member-volunteer Paul Axelrod came over and hung the pictures exactly as I wanted them. But why was it so difficult to make that phone call? What I realized is that I am of a generation that struggled for and valued our independence, particularly women. It was very difficult to ask for help. Our recent member survey revealed that many of us are not using the concierge service that the Village provides, and it may be that, like me, others find it hard to ask for help. When I joined the Village, I immediately became a volunteer, finding it much easier to give than to receive. As we age (I am now in my 70s), we need to make the shift from valuing independence to appreciating interdependence, and that is exactly what Ashby Village was established to provide.” -- Marcia Freedman