Volunteer Spotlight: Ed Schowe
If you’ve ever been at Trinity Free Clinic during Wednesday morning vision services, there’s a good chance you’ve been guided through the process by long-time volunteer Ed Schowe. Ed was initially introduced to Trinity Free Clinic through being a parishioner at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church and has volunteered primarily as an Ophthalmic Assistant since September 2016. To date, Ed has volunteered over 423 hours of his time to the clinic, for which we are very grateful!
Ophthalmic Assistant is one of the less well-known volunteer positions at Trinity Free Clinic. During vision services, Ed assists the vision provider with completing paperwork, along with obtaining Autorefractor results. Ed enjoys staying busy, and is generous enough to jump in and help with just about anything that needs done around the clinic. When Trinity Free Clinic developed new processes to screen patients for COVID-19 before entering the facility, Ed volunteered to help with that process as well.
According to Lisa Curry, Trinity Free Clinic Volunteer Coordinator, “Ed is very dependable and provides us with consistency, which is very much welcomed during these ever-changing times.”
In addition to volunteering his time, Ed leverages a program from his former employer that makes a donation to organizations where their retirees volunteer. “The company I retired from has a charitable foundation that encourages retirees to do charitable public service after they retire. . . . For every 20 hours I work, the company will donate $500 to Trinity Free Clinic.” Such volunteer grants are a huge gift to Trinity Free Clinic!
“Ed is such a vital part of our vision clinics,” said Executive Director Mel Wischmeyer. “His work behind the scenes keeps everything moving and on schedule. But I also love it when Ed serves as an intake screener, because he’s the first person patients see when they enter the clinic. Even behind a mask, you can tell he is working with a smile, ready to make every patient experience a positive one.”
When he’s not volunteering at Trinity Free Clinic, Ed has also been a volunteer at the Merciful Help Center and with the Little Sisters of the Poor at St. Augustine. He is an avid reader of history and mystery novels and referees youth and high school soccer. Ed and his wife Carol have three daughters, four granddaughters, and 3 grandsons that keep them busy as well.