Volunteering Across the Globe 
Counseling Psychology Professor Elizabeth Altmaier combined her interests in counseling, volunteering, and Russia—she studied the language in high school—during a recent trip.
Altmaier visited Yaroslavl, Russia, a town of about 600,000 north of Moscow. She volunteered in a women’s psychiatric hospital, a senior center, and a center for people with cognitive and physical disabilities through the Cross Cultural Solutions organization.
“I went there not as a psychologist, but as a person,” she said. “I did it not only because I enjoy volunteering, but because I wanted to put myself in a completely different volunteering context.”
Back home, Altmaier serves as a hospice volunteer and a GED tutor. She said conditions at the centers in Russia were very different from what she’s experienced closer to home.
The psychiatric hospital was housed in a 200-year-old former prison.
“It was a challenging physical environment,” Altmaier said. “In spite of that, the women were responsive. It was a way to give the patients some time with people,” Altmaier said.
At the senior center, which is a refuge for seniors living on a small government pension, volunteers presented educational talks about life in America. Altmaier spoke about the Iowa caucus system and the election process.
At the center for people with cognitive and physical disabilities, volunteers gave English lessons, played games, and provided companionship.
Altmaier said the trip taught her that despite differences between Russia and America, people genuinely are the same.
“There are a lot of similarities in terms of how people feel about life and what they want to achieve,” she said.
