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FTJ Resident Volunteer Spotlight – Ann Edington

By Christine Hall

Ann Edington, a Franke Tobey Jones resident since 2022, has dedicated most of her career(s) to serving her community in one way or another, and she wasn’t going to let a little thing like retirement stop her from continuing to do so. With a rich working history in a variety of different jobs all over the country – includingconducting mental health assessments as an LMHC, and her time as a Professional Guardian – her volunteer work is similarly varied.

With a full dance card, Ann could be spotted donating her time, experience, and expertise to several different nonprofit organizations and medical communities every week. On Tuesdays, she volunteers at the Tacoma Discovery Shop on North Proctor. Unlike a typical thrift store, Discovery sells high quality, gently used and new merchandise donated by the community and curated to be sold with 100% of the proceeds benefitting the American Cancer Society. At Discovery, Ann volunteers as a receptionist and a sorter for donations, sometimes checking hundreds of items of clothing!

When Ann isn’t working as a receptionist or donation sorter, she is often volunteering as a Long-Term Care Ombudsman. An Ombuds’ responsibility is to help resolve issues between parties through different types of informal mediation, and Ann advocates for senior residents in adult family homes, as well as skilled nursing and memory care facilities. Her role is to take note of any complaints or concerns these residents have, but fear speaking up about to their caregivers. At present, Ann volunteers in this role at Eliseo, Weatherly, twelve North Tacoma and four Steilacoom adult family homes.

As if that wasn’t enough, when the FTJ Physical Therapist asked Ann if she would mind walking with a couple of residents in Skilled Nursing, she was more than happy to do so. Two mornings a week, you might see Ann and another resident taking a stroll around the beautiful FTJ campus. Ann said she is extremely mindful of the fact that for people who have spent their lives as caregivers, it can be quite difficult to accept becoming the recipient of care.

Last, but certainly not least, on Fridays, Ann volunteers as the receptionist at the Pt. Defiance~Ruston Senior Center. She happily greets every single participant who walks through the door, as well as answering phone calls and any questions participants might have. Ann enjoys volunteering at the Senior Center for all the social activities, and the nice people she gets to meet each week. In between phone calls, she even gets to participate in some of the exercise classes!

When asked what brings her joy in volunteering, Ann said, “The variety, not only in the jobs, but in all the people I get to meet.” Ann retired from her paid career three years ago and seems to be even busier! She couldn’t be happier spending her days donating her time and strengthening her ties to our community. Franke Tobey Jones is exceptional because of exceptional residents like Ann Edington. We are very fortunate to have her here!