Retired from MDS—but still volunteering

What’s Evelyn Peters-Rojas been up to? She retired in April 2021 after 15 years with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Canada, mostly in the area of volunteer coordination, but she hasn’t retired from volunteering!

She does miss the people, though. “I miss the camaraderie between staff and the relationships with volunteers,” she explained. “We all had the same goal, to bring people back to a safe place after a disaster.”

Evelyn recalled the joys of working together as MDS staff and volunteers, with local partners, and often also with disaster survivors. “I learned so much about commitment, service and caring,” she said. “I experienced the love of God through people.”

Since retiring, she has been volunteering once a week at the Winnipeg Children’s Hospital Book Market, where she sorts and prices books that people donate. She also volunteers at the book market’s two annual sales. “We make anywhere between $250,000 to $300,000 per sale,” she said. “I am learning to know others who are committed to volunteering so children and families in the hospital have welcoming places.”

Evelyn likes to work with books, as reading is one of her hobbies.

“I am also still involved with MDS on a more local basis,” she said. “I am assisting the Manitoba Unit in scheduling volunteers for a new house build this fall.”

Evelyn also visits people who find it difficult to get out. “And lastly, I am a volunteer ‘childcare worker’ for my grandchildren, as well as a ‘chauffeur’ for them,” she said. “I am at a bit of a crossroads right now as I try to decide where else to place my volunteering energy.”

She reflected that transitioning from retirement to volunteerism has been freeing. “I get to do the things I love, without the pressure of working five days a week,” she said. “Having said that though, I do sometimes feel at a loss as I don’t have a set routine and often wonder what I have done with all my time.”

The transition from needing to be productive to suddenly having the freedom to be less productive is not the easiest, she added. “I enjoy the flexibility and, at the same time, crave the routine of a job. As you can tell, retirement is a mix of different involvements as well as conflicting emotions.”

One thing is for certain, helping people will remain the focus of Evelyn’s time and wherever that may be, people will benefit.