Often it's the little things that make the biggest difference.

"Mary helps me with my files and takes me to the bank," said Thomas Kovalick of Wickliffe. "She's everything in the world to me."

Although his eyesight is failing and life is more difficult since the death of his wife three years ago, Kovalick, 86, has been able to remain in the home where he's lived since 1965. Part of the reason is the "little things" provided by volunteer Mary Provins through Faith in Action.

Provins, of Mentor, was introduced to the Faith in Action program by Wilma Wells, a Parish Nurse at her St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Kirtland Hills.

"I wanted a way to live my faith by helping others," Provins said. "I've been visiting Tom every Tuesday for two years now. He's become like a family member to me."

On many Tuesdays they just play cards and talk, something Kovalick says he misses since the passing of his wife.

"He has no children or many other people in his life," said Provins. "But I get a hundredfold back by being with him."

The program, part of a nationwide network of interfaith volunteers, is getting services to elderly and disabled people in this area by matching needs to available volunteers.

"In collaboration with Senior Independence at Breckenridge, we have seven Parish Nurses working with eight churches here," explains Dr. Maita L. Jarkewicz, director of Faith in Action of Lake County. Her office is at Breckenridge Village, the independent and assisted living facility operated by Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services in Willoughby.

"Some folks just need someone to visit and help finish folding the laundry," said Jarkewicz. "It tends to build relationships."

She's retired herself as a longtime family physician with a practice on Lake Shore Boulevard in Willoughby.

Her objective is to fill needs not met by other services, such as the Lake County Council on Aging. It is one of many agencies that refers people to Faith in Action.

"Transportation is often the most difficult need to fill," Jarkewicz said.

One recent care recipient with an acute illness had daily out-patient treatment scheduled for 12 weeks. His sister was driving him to his treatments until she became ill, Jarkewicz said.

"The gentleman was unemployed and even the $1.25 discounted Laketran rate was difficult on his limited income," she said. "Faith in Action of Lake County was able to coordinate volunteer drivers three to five times a week until the treatment was completed," she said.

Her organization works with churches to find volunteers willing to provide services to the elderly and disabled.

"It's an interfaith effort," Jarkewicz said. "In most cases the volunteers are looking for ways in which they can live their faith and help others."

At many of the churches, a Parish Nurse helps facilitate matching volunteers with needs, she said. "They are a group of nurses who work with churches to look at the combined physical, spiritual and mental well being." At some, the nurses facilitate blood pressure checks and support groups among people who need them.

Churches involved include Zion Lutheran in Fairport Harbor, St. Gabriel Catholic Church in Concord Twp., Advent Lutheran in Mentor, Holy Transfiguration Byzantine Parish in Mentor-on-the-Lake, Willoughby Hills United Methodist Church, the Church of St. Mary in Chardon, St. Mary's Church in Painesville and St. Andrew Episcopal Church in Kirtland Hills.

Although, as its name implies, Faith in Action volunteers act out their faith with their volunteer efforts, there is no effort to convert care recipients or preach any aspect of a religion. "There is absolutely no proselytizing," Jarkewicz said.

Part of the training received by Faith in Action volunteers gives them an awareness of the many other services available.

One care recipient, overwhelmed at the volume of mail he received, asked for help in getting it sorted out. "While sorting a week's worth of mail, our volunteer realized he was a veteran," Jarkewicz said. "When she asked why he was not getting his medication through the Veterans Administration, she discovered he hadn't completed the necessary paperwork."

The volunteer helped the man get the paperwork done and then helped him to file it. "When a huge box of medicine arrived from VA, the man panicked because he thought he would have huge co-pay," Jarkewicz recalled. "But because he was a qualified veteran, his balance was nothing."

Those wishing to refer someone in need or interested in becoming a volunteer may contact Dr. Maita L. Jarkewicz at (440) 954-8359.

Details about the nationwide Faith in Action network may be found at www.fiavolunteers.org

Janet Podolak
Travel Editor
News-Herald