Glenda Finds Perfect Post-Retirement Job
Glenda Shelton had made a pretty fair living while working at a hosiery mill in Winston-Salem for 18 years, but she yearned for more. “I wanted a job that had meaning to it and not just the same routine day after day,” Glenda recalled.
Glenda knew she had the compassionate heart to help others. “I helped my parents care for my two elderly grandmothers,” said Glenda, who later helped with her father after he was diagnosed with cancer. “We were blessed that we could keep everyone at home. My mother is older now and beginning to need some help at home.”
In 1996, Glenda made her life-changing career move when she went to work as a CNA. Twenty-four years later, Glenda retired, but there was a void. She discovered it was too soon. “Retirement was great, but I missed caregiving and helping others. So, I served as a private-duty caregiver for an elderly man who passed away. Since I enjoy helping others, I wanted to find another job, but I really didn’t know where to start. I began to see advertisements on television for Home Instead® and decided apply for a job.”
That was last summer, when Glenda accepted a job offer at Home Instead of Mount Airy, an award-winning franchise owned by Van and Ann Lankford. It came as no surprise seven months later that Glenda was honored as the office’s CAREGiver of the Month during an announcement made by Staff Coordinator Sharon Bledsoe.
Glenda and Home Instead are a perfect match. Referring to Glenda’s desire to seek another job after her retirement, Van said: “We find that many people have opted to ‘unretire,’ or return to work, perhaps in part-time roles, after their initial retirements. According to 2019 research conducted by the Home Instead corporate office, 53 percent of those soon to be retiring believed they were likely to return to work after retirement.”
Van added: “Home Instead’s ‘UnRetire Yourself’ program encourages those people to combine their passions and experience to identify fulfilling post-retirement employment, including professional caregiving. We are so happy Glenda chose this route, and it was a natural one for her because she had enjoyed her work as a CNA and private-duty caregiver. Seniors and their families have benefited from Glenda’s compassion and skills, and she feels good about what she’s doing.”
Glenda confirmed Van’s words. She said: “I love working for Home Instead. They are a great company. They are always thanking their caregiving staff for a job well done. It’s a wonderful feeling to be appreciated. I have enjoyed all of my clients.”
One client, herself a former private-duty caregiver who shared the same precious spiritual faith with Glenda, especially touched Glenda’s heart.
“Mrs. D. was always so thankful of the least thing. She would meet me at the door and tell me she was glad Home Instead sent me. I fixed her breakfast and helped her in her house. She’s going blind and I would read the Bible to her. We talked about her family. Her minister made sure she got to church. Just to see her smile and to be happy was one of the greatest blessings,”
said Glenda, embodies Home Instead’s guiding principles of “Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart.”
All Home Instead CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For inquiries about employment, please call (336) 789-4472 or apply online. For further information about Home Instead, visit our website.
