- April 25, 2024
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Cara O'Keefe. Photo by Michele Meyers
Cara O'Keefe holds one of her friends crocheted baby hats at St. Brendans' food pantry. Photo by Michele Meyers
Cara O'Keefe. Photo by Michele Meyers
Cara O'Keefe. Photo by Michele Meyers
Cara O'Keefe and fellow volunteer Vicki Edwards prepare for the arrival of the St. Brendans Catholic Church food pantry clientele. Photo by Michele Meyers
Cara O'Keefe. Photo by Michele Meyers
Cara O’Keefe is always smiling.
Fellow volunteers at St. Brendan Catholic Church are constantly wondering what she’s up to and have given her the nickname “Trouble.”
“I heard she was double-trouble from someone else,” said volunteer Bob Callahan as he laughed.
The desire to help people was instilled in O’Keefe at an early age by her mother who volunteered to assist people, anywhere and at anytime. When she was 10 years old, she and her mother went to a local market where her mother told her she needed to stand by the door and open it for everyone entering the store. That stuck with her, and she has been passionate about helping people ever since.
“I love doing things for other people,” O'Keefe said. “You don’t need to give me a certificate of appreciation. I don’t need those things. All I need is a thank you. That’s all.”
After her husband died 17 years ago, she realized she needed something to keep
"Cara is the most devoted volunteer I know. She works the St. Brendan Food Pantry, works on planning receptions for funerals, volunteers for Meals on Wheels, works with members of our local Family Renew, has been president and organizes the annual craft show as well as many other actives for the Council of Catholic women and the list goes on and on. No is not a part of her vocabulary. We are very fortunate to have Cara a part of our church and our community."
Vince Colonna, fellow volunteer at the St. Brendan Food Pantry
her busy. She started as a secretary for the AARP and became active with St. Brendans Catholic Church. The 86 year old currently organizes their funeral receptions, annual craft show and the senior games while volunteering at the food pantry and Family Renew, a safe place where families with children can live while seeking permanent housing. Prior to the pandemic, she helped feed the children on the last Saturday of every month. The tireless volunteer also stays involved with the Council of Catholic Women and their activities.
Her energy seems boundless.
“I think I have always had energy,” O’Keefe said. “I’m one of those people that has to stay busy. If it rains all day, I’m very unhappy because I want to be out doing something.”
She attributes her ability to do 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day to taking an abundance of vitamins and a vitamin B12 shot every third week, which she said makes her energy “zoom” afterward. Getting home by 3:30 p.m. for some “me time” also helps her keep up with her busy schedule. That is her time to read, do crossword puzzles, knit or watch some television.
O’Keefe lives in a pink house in Ormond Beach where she keeps a storage bin on the front porch to collect items for people in need. Periodically, she makes meals for the elderly people who live on her street. Her 98-year-old neighbor recently received a crockpot and she has offered to give him cooking lessons.
“I eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast every morning,” she said. “People have started putting jars of peanut butter in my tote box for me. I haven’t bought peanut butter in over a year or two.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered her volunteer to-do list this year. She continues to work for Meals-on-Wheels, but has opted out of ushering at the Peabody, the Daytona Playhouse and the News-Journal Center. However, O’Keefe has no plans of slowing down. In addition to her incessant need to help others, she continues to check off her bucket list. This year she plans on riding in a fire truck to the church and taking a semi-truck for a test drive once it is modified for her petite frame. Age is just a number to the volunteer.
“I’m never going to grow up,” she said. “I’ll be sitting on Santa’s lap and I’ll say see you next year.”
O’Keefe feels one of her favorite Martin Luther King Jr. quotes fits her to a tee: “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way."
