Volunteer reflects on the positive outcome of her first meeting with Garden Terrace residents
Makeup artist Roxane Vezina hosted a spa day to help residents look and feel their best
Roxane Vezina has a talent for making people look and feel their best, and it’s a gift she wanted to bring to others.
So, in March, the professional makeup artist completed her first volunteer shift at Garden Terrace, where she helped residents choose and apply makeup to help them feel like they were getting ready for a night out on the town.
Roxane explains how she became a volunteer at the Ottawa-area long-term care home.
“I was looking for volunteering opportunities, but especially doing makeup and helping people feel better about themselves,” she tells The OMNIway.
“I found there were no opportunities in Ottawa to do that. So I contacted (Garden Terrace) and asked about providing services to them in a volunteering capacity.”
On her first volunteering day in March, shortly after pandemic restrictions relaxed, Roxane organized a spa day for residents. She provided a large makeup kit for residents to choose the colours and shades of makeup they wanted for their eyes, cheeks and lips.
She also provided skincare services and did residents’ nails.
Roxane says what made her most happy about her first volunteering shift was that she was able to provide residents with a service they had not had in a long time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was able to give (the residents) a bit of a transformation and helped make them feel more beautiful, more feminine and offered them something they perhaps haven’t had in a very long time,” she says.
Roxane also says she saw the difference her work made.
“The residents were very grateful for the opportunity, and I thought that was so sweet,” she says. “I think the best part of this process for the residents was really just to feel their best.”
After their makeup and nails were done, the residents were reflecting on their fond memories of getting dressed up to go out for the evening, and this had a positive impact on Roxane, she says.
“That made me feel great because they talked about what they were doing and what they would have done when they were all dolled up,” she says.
April 24-30 was National Volunteer Week. The week is marked by events nationwide that celebrate volunteers and all they do to enrich the lives of others. This year marks the 81st National Volunteer Week.
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