Small effort makes big impact at Almonte
Tuesday, December 5, 2006 -- Michelle Strutzenberger
It was just a small need. A resident at Almonte Country Haven was expecting a visit from her daughter and wanted to wear a special blouse for the occasion. But the blouse was in the laundry sacks, waiting to be washed, and the washing machine was down.

Anna Sarrazin, housekeeping and laundry aide, had to tell the resident that she wouldn’t be able to wear the blouse that day, but that by tomorrow it would be ready.

Anna remembers the resident’s response. “She started crying. She said that tomorrow was too late.” The blouse had been a gift from her daughter, who could only visit a few times a year. “It meant a lot to her to be able to wear it.”

Seeing the tears, Anna’s heart went out to the resident. “I thought that if she were my Mom, I would want her to have special treatment.” So she took it upon herself to search through all the laundry sacks to find the clothing item.

She washed it at the sink by hand, dried it, and brought it to the resident, just in time for the visit from her daughter.

It was just a small act, but as Rick Gourlie, Almonte’s administrator, points out, it shows how someone working in the laundry department can make a difference in a person’s life. “Making a small effort equals [a] big impact.”

Anna agrees that the action “made a big difference” in the life of the resident, simply by fulfilling a desire that appeared small but was close to her heart, and so lifting her spirits.

Anna, who has worked at Almonte for 18 years in the housekeeping and laundry department, finds that it is those small acts of kindness that make her job enjoyable as well. “Doing that for her made my day too,” she says.