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Helping Patients
Karmanos volunteer doesn’t let
age slow her down
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April 26 • 2018
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Fay Jacobs, a 93-year-old volunteer at Karmanos Cancer Institute’s Weisberg Cancer Treatment
Center, helps women prepare for their mammograms at the Farmington Hills-based center. Also
pictured is Lisa Abele, lead mammographer at Weisberg, and a patient.
ELIZABETH KATZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
F
ay Jacobs, 93, of Farmington
Hills, isn’t someone who
spends her days shopping
and going out to lunch. Rather,
you’ll find her exercising at the
Costick Activities Center, meeting
friends from Congregation Beth
Shalom in Oak Park or volunteer-
ing at the Barbara Ann Karmanos
Cancer Institute’s Weisberg Cancer
Treatment Center in Farmington
Hills.
With her warm touch and friendly
smile, Fay serves as a patient naviga-
tor at Karmanos, helping women
prepare for their mammograms,
and serves in a secretarial capac-
ity. She volunteers at Karmanos on
Wednesdays for half a day.
“I like being with people,” she said.
“I try to calm people down. You can
see them come in and they’re quite
nervous.”
Fay has been a volunteer at
Karmanos for 10 years.
“I thought I could help people,” she
said. “I knew I wanted to volunteer at
Karmanos. I enjoy being busy.”
For her decade of volunteerism to
Karmanos, Fay has been honored by
the Farmington Area Commission
on Aging with the Margaret Loridas
Diamond Award. She, along with
four other winners, were celebrated
recently at a ceremony at the Costick
Center in Farmington Hills.
To be considered for the diamond
award, an individual must live in the
Farmington/Farmington Hills area,
must be 75 years old “or better” and
must be a current, active volunteer.
The commission also gave out a
“gold” level award, a S.A.G.E. Award
for a volunteer in the community
schools and awards for two individu-
als who volunteer at Costick.
“Fay is my hero,” said Kathleen
Hardy, LMSW, oncology social worker
at Karmanos who nominated Fay
for the award. “If I could be like Fay,
I would welcome living into my
90s. She is cheerful, full of energy and
always has such nice things to say to
everyone.
“She chose volunteering, and our
patients and staff are the beneficia-
ries. We look forward to Wednesdays
because we know Fay will be here to
greet everyone and help us out in any
way she can.” •
Elizabeth Katz is the former external marketing
and communications manager at the Barbara
Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute.