Connections to Care helps fill gaps in community services

For more than 120 years, Providence Alaska's commitment to provide for the poor and vulnerable in our state has been unwavering. In 2024, we invested $73 million in the health and wellness of the communities we serve, including $25 million in free and discounted care. Download the print version of the 2024 Community Benefit Report here. 

VALDEZ, Alaska — Catherine Fletcher has been independent all her life. She came to the United States in her early 20s from Scotland, by way of England, and settled in Alaska, first in Fairbanks, and later in Chitina, where she raised three children.   

Now in her 70s, Catherine still lives as independently as possible in a small home in Valdez. Her husband, John, died 20 years ago, but her daughter and grandchildren live nearby, so she gets to see them often. She likes to do arts and crafts, and she gets out as much as possible, but as is the case when people get older, it becomes ever more difficult to do these things as the years go by.   

That’s where Connections to Care came in, providing Catherine not only physical help with chores and errands, but also companionship and laughter to enhance her day-to-day living.   

Connections to Care is an all-volunteer organization in Valdez that works to fill gaps in the community – whether it be mowing an elder’s lawn, helping an overworked single mother, or assisting with complicated paperwork for those unfamiliar with computers. The nonprofit also offers companionship, educational resources, hospice and bereavement support, medical equipment loans and transportation. In 2024, Providence Alaska supported the program with a $6,000 grant for its daily operations.   

Last year, Connections to Care volunteer Sara Ellis-Sanborn began visiting Catherine.   

“Sara just appeared,” said Catherine, recalling the first visit she had with Ellis-Sanborn. “Mostly we sit and talk for a while, which is very nice. We find all sorts of things to talk about.”  

The goal of Connections to Care is to love thy neighbors in a very real way, by making sure they have what they need – food, rides to town, chores, companionship – you name it.   

“We started this program in 2016,” said Joan Heikens, president of the organization. “I was on the hospital board at Providence (Valdez), and I thought, ‘Man, we have a gap in services, we have people who need equipment who can’t get equipment, we don’t have a hospice, and we have all these other people that need assistance.’ Our CEO at the time said, ‘Joan, tell you what: You put together a nonprofit group, and Providence will help you. They gave me about $40,000 to start, and we haven’t looked back since.”  

Heikens said it is gratifying to watch her volunteers become so invested in their community. Take Ellis-Sanborn, for instance. Volunteering is her way of giving back to the community – something she learned early on in her 20-year career in the U.S. Coast Guard. But the real reward, she said, is the love and care she receives in turn.   

“She’s definitely not as old as my grandma would be, but she’s kind of grandmotherly – and she’s Scottish like my grandmother was,” Ellis-Sanborn said of Catherine. “You can have real conversations with her. It’s like a two-way street; the things I would vent to my mom about I have her for.”  

Holly Mooney is Connections to Care’s sole employee, whose job is to schedule visits, reach out to the community for volunteers and help clients with other tasks such as filling out medical forms.   

“I’m like the middle piece,” she said. “We have about 11 volunteers who do everything from snow removal to companionship to daily tasks like cleaning. Another thing we do is work with all the organizations around town like the Food Bank and the Senior Center to coordinate some of our services. We work with people with illnesses that don’t qualify them for other services, trying to fill those cracks in care. We really try to be where people need it the most. Our main goal is to help make their daily living better.”  

Catherine said her life is indeed brighter with Sara in it. She looks forward to her visits, when they will sit and talk, work on projects together or ride into town for Chair Fitness classes at the college gym, or other appointments as needed.   

“She also comes with all her equipment and cleans things in my house, Hoovering the carpets and cleaning my bathroom and it looks lovely, very lovely,” Catherine said. “It’s very hard to ask for help, so I’ve come up with sweeping the floor because I cannot bend over with two hands and sweep up the stuff like I used to.”   

But mostly, Catherine said, she just likes the camaraderie. Connections to Care has made that possible.   

“I really like our talks, and I really like the socialization,” she said. “That’s so nice, so lovely.”