Guardian Angels Volunteering to Make an Impact

Nobody knew much about Roger. His niece had dropped him off at the nursing home one day, saying there was a family emergency. Could they keep him overnight?

Days passed, and then weeks.

Some thought that Roger’s niece had been pocketing his Social Security checks, and when authorities started catching on, she bolted. Whatever the reason, she never came back.


Mark Desmond

Enter Mark Desmond, Roger’s volunteer guardian. Mark, a newly retired sales manager, was determined to find out all he could about Roger, which was difficult given that he didn’t say more than a few words at a time. With a little digging, Mark learned that as a young man, Roger had worked on a dairy farm in Kansas.

Over time, Mark also discovered that Roger loved bananas. So each week before Mark would visit, he’d stop at the grocery to pick up a bunch.

“He’d have two or three right off the bat, and we’d just sit outside his room, and he’d smile,” Mark remembered. “It cost 39 cents for a pound of bananas. … It was just amazing how much enjoyment he got out of that.”

Volunteering as a guardian is about honoring the little things that make life better.

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Guardian Angels Volunteering to Make an Impact