Many residents at Well-Spring, continuing care retirement community in Greensboro, devote their time, resources and talents to helping others.
Their volunteer spirit extends throughout the Greensboro community and reflects the caring, active and engaged culture that makes Well-Spring such a special place to live, with residents consistently finding meaningful ways to serve others.
Tony and Judi Labath are wonderful examples of this spirit. In 2024, they joined Habitat for Humanity’s Playhouse Program, which brings volunteers together to build wooden playhouses for children from families with limited means. After seeing how much joy their first playhouse brought to a young girl, they’re excited to take part again next year.
Tony, a woodworker and regular in Well-Spring’s woodworking shop, uses his skills to create something special for children from families with humble means. Tony first became interested in Habitat for Humanity several years ago because of his care for families facing housing insecurity. “I feel like everyone deserves to have a safe home,” he says.
As part of the Habitat for Humanity Playhouse Program, each volunteer team sponsors the playhouse they build. Well-Spring proudly provided the sponsorship for this project, reflecting the community’s dedication to uplifting resident-driven initiatives that make a difference.
Habitat for Humanity provides wood and instructions while volunteers cut each piece before gathering at a Habitat site to assemble and decorate the playhouse.
Tony and Judi gathered fellow Well-Spring residents who wanted to help bring the nature-themed playhouse to life for a young girl who loves the outdoors, and together they spent hours painting, assembling and decorating each piece. Their teamwork created not only a beautiful playhouse but also a shared sense of purpose.
Tony and Judi’s story is just one of many. Countless residents give back in ways that are just as meaningful, some support Backpack Beginnings, a nonprofit that provides essential items to local children and families. Others volunteer with A Simple Gesture, a Greensboro organization that collects food from households and businesses to fight hunger in Guilford County.
Another example of residents giving back from within the Well-Spring community is that each year, residents purchase small gifts from the on-site gift shop and donate them to Big Brothers Big Sisters, a program that creates and supports one-on-one mentoring relationships between adult volunteers and local children who face adversity. Residents in healthcare also decorate handmade ornaments to donate to a local Hospice program.
These examples represent only a portion of the kindness happening across Well-Spring every day. Residents continue to inspire one another to serve, create and lead volunteer efforts that make a difference.
At Well-Spring, retirement is not just a time to enjoy life but a chance to enrich the lives of others. Our residents show what it means to live with purpose, compassion and community at heart.
By Jessica Ford
Kintura Content Specialist