Champlin Park Student Honored for Volunteer Work With Seniors
A Champlin Park High School senior is being recognized for going above and beyond as a volunteer.
Her work at St. Therese at Oxbow Lake in Brooklyn Park has gathered regional acclaim.
The Oxbow Lake campus has assisted living, independent living, transitional, long-term and memory care residents.
Much of its work is driven by volunteers.
Volunteers like Charlotte Selby, that is.
She’s been a St. Therese volunteer since 2023, and spends most of that time connecting with residents on a personal level.
“It started off as a way to get volunteer hours, and since then I feel like I’ve really formed connections with so many people here,” she said. “It’s like, since I’ve started, I’ve gained like 100 extra grandparents.”
Sometimes, Selby gardens with the residents or puts together crafts with them. Other times, she calls weekly games of bingo.
When Selby stops by, the residents are never short on treats. They’re also never short on laughter.
Some of the ladies she sees once a week. Others, twice, when she escorts them to mass on Sunday mornings.
“I think I’m making as much of a difference in their lives as they are in mine,” Selby said.
Volunteer Charlotte Selby sits with a group of ladies from St. Therese at Oxbow Lake’s Memory Care wing.
Award-Winning Friendship
Selby’s being recognized for her efforts as this year’s LeadingAge District G Volunteer of the Year.
Jen Bettencourt, St. Therese’s vice president of philanthropy, said it was well-deserved.
“She refers to our residents, commonly, as her friends — and she really, genuinely means that,” Bettencourt said. “She’s so selfless about the time that she spends here. She’s so giving and caring, and she’s so open with our residents.”
Through Selby’s eyes, these connections with her friends are a no-brainer. She said she thinks volunteering with seniors is something everyone her age could benefit from.
“Just opening up your perspective to somebody that’s had a very different lived experience from you, and learning from it. And then bringing that perspective back into your world,” Selby said.
Selby is headed to Loyola of Chicago for college in the fall. But everyone at St. Therese suspects they will see plenty of her on her breaks.
Selby received her award at the LeadingAge Minnesota Stars Among Us awards banquet.
