‘I can’t just do nothing’: Winnipeg woman, 95, continues volunteering at nursing home

Emily Kosack has spent over 30 years volunteering at the Holy Family Nursing Home. Alex Karpa reports.

95-year-old Emily Kosack is a familiar face at Winnipeg’s Holy Family Nursing Home.

She’s been actively volunteering there for 34 years.

On this Palm Sunday, she was handing out pussy willows to residents, just one of the many small acts of kindness she performs each day.

“I just enjoy doing it,” she said.

Kosack started volunteering at the nursing home in 1992, when her late mother was a resident.

Since then, she’s dedicated much of her time to helping residents, from assisting with meals to leading bingo games.

“I know they need help and like I said, it does me good to be here, to do it, to be able to help them,” she said. “When they need help, I’m there to help them.”

Over more than three decades, she has rarely missed a week, only taking breaks when she is away on vacation.

Being at Holy Family is more than a routine for her; it’s a calling.

‘I love to walk’

At 95, Kosack shows no signs of slowing down, making her daily rounds and brightening the lives of everyone she meets.

Every day between two and three p.m., she walks around the nursing home, covering a distance of roughly three kilometres.

She says keeping busy is important.

“I can’t just do nothing with my life. Every day, I wake up and I got something to do,” she said.

Overcoming adversity

A couple of years ago, Kosack broke her hip, which is why she uses a walker to get around.

She’s also a cancer survivor and has suffered a couple of heart attacks.

Yet none of these challenges have stopped her from doing what she loves most: helping others.

“I’m still able to do it,” she said. “It’s better than doing nothing. I just enjoy being here.”

“I’m so glad my mother was here because it’s what brought me here in the first place,” she said.

Volunteers essential to providing care

Stacey Morgan says everyday volunteers like Kosack bring immense joy to the residents.

“They make our programs run, they bring residents to programming so they have the ability to get there; they are there for feeding; they are there for chapel services,” said Morgan, the director of care at the nursing home. “They are really the heart of the organization.”

Morgan said all of the volunteers are extremely dedicated to helping provide the best care to residents possible.

Kosack is part of the women’s auxiliary, a dedicated group of 60 to 70 volunteers who organize programs and activities for residents.

Morgan said Kosack is an inspiration and a role model to others.

“She is here every single day to feed our residents, and to care for them and to take them to programs and spend time with them,” she said. “It makes their lives better.”

“How many 95-year-olds would be able to do what she is able to do,” she said. “She is an amazing woman and stands out for all of us. Emily does play a big role in kind of how we provide care, and we all know her name and who she is and think that is important.”

‘Hope more people get involved’

Kosack says she will continue to volunteer for as long as she can.

She hopes more people will come to volunteer.

“A lot of people here do need help,” she said. “Just taking people outside in the summertime, there’s hardly anybody doing that anymore.”

For Kosack, even the smallest gesture can leave a lasting impact.