by Callie Sleper
Janice began volunteering at TPT—Twin Cities PBS in downtown St. Paul 22 years ago. She has gone in every single day for an hour at a time, except on holidays or the rare day when her supervisor gives her the day off.
Janice doesn’t care for days off. If she could, Janice would be at TPT every day, including weekends and holidays, stuffing envelopes with donation sheets to help the station flourish.
Janice, a customer in Kaposia’s retirement program and a member of Kaposia’s Roseville Community Retirement Group, chose to start volunteering because “I didn’t have nothing to do, and I wanted to volunteer.” Janice stays busy with the Roseville Community Group every weekday morning scouting out unique, fun activities in the Twin Cities area. She also volunteers at the Johanna Shores and Langton Place nursing homes as well as Feed My Starving Children. However, Janice wanted to find a special place to volunteer all on her own. So, each day at 12:30, a Kaposia van drops Janice off at the loading dock entrance of TPT so she can venture up to her post and stuff envelopes at lightning speed with her signature sass.
In honor of her tenure as such a longtime and valued volunteer, TPT offered Janice and her friends in the Roseville Community Group a behind-the-scenes tour of their operations. Janice, Raymond, Kim, Bridget, and Michelle all enjoyed an exclusive look inside the studios where Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, Sesame Street, Almanac, and many other award-winning shows are filmed. They were thrilled to look inside the lense of large, rotating cameras, sit down on the set of Almanac (Raymond’s favorite show), get inside the Mr. Rogers’ trolley, as well as tour sound rooms, offices, and more. Wherever the group went, TPT employees greeted Janice enthusiastically. Without a doubt, Janice is a very popular fixture at the TPT studios.
“I dropped her off the other day, and somebody opened the door for her,” said Michelle Waterworth, Kaposia employee. “’Here, let me get this for you, Janice,’ they said. She basically knows everybody.”
Every day when Janice volunteers at TPT, she feels better. She absolutely loves the time she spends there and all the nice people she’s met over the years. “I like the job—oh yes, I do! I want to be there all my life,” said Janice. Clearly, Janice is busy living her passion.