Diane Gutman Organizes A Team Of Volunteers To Help Local Seniors
By Mike May
If you’re looking for a volunteer opportunity where you will get more in return than you give, call Diane Gutman today. She is the director of operations for the nonprofit Our Community Cares, formerly Wellington Cares. Gutman oversees a group of volunteers who provide free help to senior citizens in Wellington and Royal Palm Beach.
Gutman’s corps of volunteers provide free transportation to medical and non-medical appointments; give rides to the library, church and common destinations; and assist with grocery shopping and prescription pick-up for an expanding list of seniors who are not as mobile as they had been. But the volunteers do much more than that.
“If our seniors need an air conditioning filter replaced or a new battery in their smoke detector, our light home maintenance team of volunteers provide that service,” Gutman said. “If a senior needs somebody to speak with or requests a social visit, our volunteers provide those services. Some of our home-bound seniors do not have interactions with others for an extended time. These personal phone calls and social visits make a big difference in their lives. On one occasion, a volunteer arriving to pick up a senior for an appointment found that she had fallen and couldn’t get up. That volunteer probably saved the person’s life by being there at the right time and calling emergency responders.”
Our Community Cares also provides paper products like plates, napkins, paper towels and toilet paper, also at no charge, thanks to community residents and organizations such as Women of the Western Communities, who donate to the cause.
“The average age of our participants who receive assistance is 84 years old, and the average age of our volunteers is 67,” Gutman explained. “In many respects, it’s seniors helping seniors.”
In 2023, these volunteers provided more than $140,000 in goods and services to local seniors while driving more than 15,800 miles around the community.
Our Community Cares welcomes families who want to volunteer together, and Gutman’s own family is a perfect example. “Back in 2013, my husband and I, and our two sons, got involved as volunteers because the boys needed volunteer hours to graduate from Wellington High School, so we started volunteering with this group,” Gutman recalled. “I started as a volunteer, and since 2014, I have evolved into being the director of the group.”
Gutman encourages all residents of the western communities to become volunteers. It’s a win-win for everyone.
“All of our volunteers are truly receiving more than they are giving,” Gutman said. “Being a volunteer generates great joy for both the volunteer and the participant receiving services… You also develop great friendships with seniors and fellow volunteers. Volunteering with Our Community Cares is fulfilling, purposeful and you get more in return than you give.”
In addition to catering to the needs of seniors, the volunteers almost become family members. “Our volunteers become the eyes and ears for family members who live outside Palm Beach County,” Gutman said. “In many cases, our volunteers will call a family member if there’s a need for somebody to come visit them or take care of a pressing medical issue.”
While Our Community Cares currently focuses on Wellington and Royal Palm Beach, the nonprofit would love to replicate its services elsewhere. “However, for us to grow and expand, we need monetary donations and sponsorship,” Gutman noted.
Our Community Cares is grateful for the annual support received from a number of sponsors, such as the Quantum Foundation, the Palm Health Foundation, Comfort Care Homecare, the Wellington Community Foundation and Think Big Healthcare Solutions. Other key supporters include the Town-Crier, the villages of Wellington and Royal Palm Beach, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
and Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue. Our Community Cares also has an affiliation with Grace Chapel, which provides perishable foods such as meats, fruit, vegetables, bread and desserts, which are personally delivered to the homes of participants in need.
While Gutman runs the day-to-day operations, she’s guided and assisted by a nine-member board, which includes the organization’s founder, Kathy Foster, as well as Chair Cheryl Anders, Vice Chair Bill Maher, Treasurer Marion Frank, Secretary Marge Sullivan, and board members Leonard Baer, Allison Negri, Petra Pitkonen and Shelley Swartz.
When Gutman is not guiding Our Community Cares, she enjoys traveling with her husband Ken, visiting her children, volunteering at church and spending time with friends. She is also one of the latest residents to start playing pickleball. “I just started a few weeks ago. I only play doubles, and it’s a lot of fun,” said Gutman, who graduated from York College in Pennsylvania with a degree in recreational therapy.
To get involved with Our Community Cares, as a volunteer or a participant, call Gutman at (561) 568-8818. Learn more at www.ourcommunitycaresfl.org, where there is also information about providing donations.
