This article originally appeared in Good Day, Berks — Spotlight PA’s free daily newsletter for Berks County and your daily dose of Berks County essentials. Sign up here.
This week’s Community Spotlight honoree is Suzanne Ernesto, 73, a retired nurse who has volunteered at St. Francis Home, a nonprofit, end-of-life-care facility in Cumru Township, since it opened in 2018. She is currently a board member there.
This conversation, conducted in person, has been edited for length and style.
Good Day, Berks: Where do you live?
Suzanne Ernesto: Spring Township.
Tell us a little about your family.
My husband, John, and I have two daughters and four grandchildren. Family is everything to us.
Tell us about your work and what you like about it.
St. Francis Home is an important place that cares for people and their families during a very difficult and emotional time. I’m proud to have been a volunteer there since it opened. When I show up for a shift there, I never know what I’ll be encountering or who I’ll see that day, but I know that I’ll be trying my hardest to provide the best care I can while respecting the dignity of every person. We work hard to maintain an environment that’s peaceful and welcoming and to treat every person like family.
Tell us about a challenge you faced.
As a nonprofit with limited resources, St. Francis Home is always in need of more help, both with financial assistance and time from volunteers. There are all kinds of opportunities for volunteers, as we need people to work in the kitchen, tend to the grounds, help care for patients, and perform all sorts of other tasks.
Volunteers work four-hour shifts and are provided with all the support they need. If anyone is interested in learning more about volunteer opportunities, they can contact us on the St. Francis Home website.
Where would you take a visitor to in Berks and why?
I’d take a visitor to the Fairgrounds Farmers Market because it’s a busy, lively place and you can get just about anything you want there, from local fruits and vegetables to all kinds of prepared foods. It’s also a fun place to run into people you haven’t seen for a while and get to catch up.
Is there a book, poem, or piece of art that speaks to you?
Music has been a big part of our lives for my husband and me. We’re big jazz fans and, through our involvement with the Berks Jazz Fest, have had the opportunity to get to know a lot of performers and others in the music business. We’ve both learned a lot from our experiences.
Who has had the greatest influence on your life?
My mother, Anna Phillips. We lived in the Oakbrook Homes when I was a kid, and mom raised me there while also helping out neighbors in whatever way she could. She cooked and baked and shared with others and created community for us. After I got married, she lived with my husband and me and helped to raise our kids. She was a constant, loving presence in my life until she died in 1994, and I still think about her every day.
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