Meet The Team | Senior Helpers of Bolingbrook

Meet the Bolingbrook office

More than 90% of seniors want to be able to age in their own home with dignity but getting the right type of care can seem daunting. At Senior Helpers of Bolingbrook we believe that getting the best care for your loved ones should not be complicated. We recognize the growing need for in-home care services, and with our passion for helping others, we are committed to delivering the best possible care to seniors in the Bolingbrook community.

We take the opportunity to provide care in your home seriously and make it a priority to provide the highest level of client service possible. We have built an exceptional team of care professionals, each committed to remaining at the forefront of the in-home care industry through our proprietary ongoing training and education programs. You can feel confident that your loved one is in good hands with Senior Helpers.

Our History

Senior Helpers was founded in 2002 by Tony Bonacuse with the help of Peter Ross after their firsthand experience in caring for their respective family members. Tony and Peter identified a need that was not being filled properly by the other companies. They realized that most seniors would prefer to age in their own home rather than move into an unfamiliar institution. Unfortunately, the options available to most seniors were very limited. Most seniors did not have access to well-trained, dependable and accessible in-home care. This was the mission-driven spark that started Senior Helpers.

The first office opened in Baltimore, Maryland, and quickly developed a reputation for delivering excellent in-home senior care with their well-trained staff of professional caregivers. Based on the success of the Baltimore location, the company began to expand. Over the past 13 years, the Senior Helpers family has grown to include a network of more than 300 locally owned and operated franchises across the United States.

Senior Helpers of Bolingbrook was proud to join the system in 2022. Like every other owner, we too are fully-committed to the original goal of providing dependable and accessible in-home care with well-trained caregivers. Nothing is more important to us than being the best available resource for seniors and families in our community. We are lucky to serve hundreds of seniors in our community, and we are committed to continuing to provide uncompromising levels of care to all our families.

Our process

The first step in the process is a complimentary, initial in-home care assessment with a Senior Helpers consultant. This assessment can help you understand the true needs of your loved one, and your options. Together we can discuss their needs, our senior care services and determine what’s best for your entire family.

We will cover:

Your family's specific goals

Your loved one's daily plan design and schedule

Pricing and payment methods

Implementation process

Ongoing communication and follow-up plan

Meet the Bolingbrook Team

Kara Fairhurst

Owner/operator

Kara Fairhurst is the proud owner of Senior Helpers Bolingbrook. She lives locally with her husband and two sons, Emre and Ozan and plays an active role in supporting the local community. She’s involved in local children’s charities and promoting events for Seniors. She particularly enjoys the local senior picnics.

Her time is also spent meeting with new clients, developing community relationships and striving for excellence at every level of the business. She can be contacted directly for any questions or if you know a senior in need of guidance or support.

The Senior Helpers mission is personal to Kara because she has seen firsthand how important it was to her grandmother to be able to continue to live comfortably in her own home. Kara enjoys providing top quality compassionate care to Seniors so they can stay home just like her grandmother.

Her passion for providing care, led her to work as a care professional and then progressed into care management specializing in mental health. From her personal and professional experience grew her heartfelt desire to support seniors in the community and in doing so make a big difference to the lives of People in Bolingbrook.

Kara attained a Business and Management Degree and utilized this to successfully manage operations and training in other customer serving organizations. Her experience taught her that, in addition to solid policies and operational procedures, it’s the quality of the people in your organization, who make the biggest difference.

Her passion for great customer service shines through, Kara says that she is focused on hiring Care Professionals, “Who can share a smile, know their stuff and show they care”

“What I love most about Senior Helpers is the impact we can have locally in improving the quality of lives for our clients, their families and our employees”.

Janet Furness

Human Resources Manager

Janet has lived and worked internationally and attained a degree in Social Policy in Cambridge, England.

Janet has firsthand of experience as a healthcare assistant in the Neuroscience Department at one of the world’s leading hospitals supporting doctors and patients with a wide range of needs. She later worked in dementia care and has delivered numerous seminars.

Couple this with over 20 years of experience in management working with recruitment, training, scheduling, and staff engagement - she understands how to run an efficient and effective operation.

Janet’s role at Senior Helpers Bolingbrook is to “hire the smile” and ensure effective onboarding, training, and engagement

Janet says “a family friendly environment is key to a successful and committed team”

Sevgi Alkan

Brand Ambassador

Engaging both our clients and our staff with clear and transparent communication is critical to building positive ongoing relationships. Keeping families well informed of our business progress and explaining how we differentiate our service offering is important.

Sevgi has lived and worked internationally and is multilingual. She is a naturally gifted communicator and social media expert. She graduated with a degree in Art and Design.

She previously built up her personal social media followers to be over quarter of a million and she says “I really enjoy supporting the business and connecting the community with how we can help”

Lorena Merino-Bello

Client Care Specialist

Lorena has significant experience in the Care Sector, she has over 8 years of providing client care. Her wide range of experience includes being a certified nursing assistant, a caregiver, and a massage therapist.

Over the years she has built many wonderful and long-lasting relationships with her clients as she is widely known for her attentive and caring approach.

By nature, Lorena is both well organized and has a keen eye for detail which naturally leads her to be a top-class Client Care Specialist. Providing care plans and being able to respond to the changing needs of our clients is an essential component in the quality of service we provide. We are so fortunate to have Lorena’s skill, experience, and attitude at the heart of our efficient operation!

Yecenia Rios

Staffing Coordinator

Yecenia has a passion for the empowerment of seniors with quality home care. She has seen for herself the big difference that great care provision can make to mom, and to the whole family.

She has experienced firsthand the dynamics required to bring quality care to life. As she has worked for 5 years as a Care Giver at a Senior Facility. This experience has motivated her to continue to apply her skills and passion - but this time with senior care at home.

She recently relocated to our local community from Chicago with her three beautiful daughters. Her experience, dedication to care and brilliance at organizing people to meet the needs of our clients, makes her the perfect addition to our team as Scheduling Manager.

Angela Ward

Care Team Coordinator

Angela says that “It’s hard not to feel happy when you make someone smile” and that’s why she loves what she does. Interacting both with both Care Givers as a Team Leader and with our Clients provides so many opportunities to make a difference.

Angela calls upon her experience on a day-to-day basis. She has 15 years’ experience in Home care plus 5 years Facility experience. Both of which give her a great perspective to understanding clients’ needs and identifying the best solutions for those needs.

Supporting Seniors to live their best lives is core to Angela’s belief system. Angela actively encourages providing stimulating activities to enrich daily lives. She lives this in her own life as she loves gardening, camping, and cooking.

Ashley Cantretos

Care Team Coordinator

Providing care is something that Ashley has experienced both professionally and personally. At home, she cared for her 91-year-old grandmother and looked after her in all the ways she could.

But her caring approach didn’t stop there. She also volunteers in her church to assist kids and adults in participating activities. She has also provided support to patients in a dental office and in the broader health care field. In summary, Ashley has always been active and positive in caring for others.

No surprise then that Ashley has built a great client reputation since working with us. Her experience, training, and of course her positive human centric attitude, will serve her well in her role as Care Team Coordinator

Sylvia Okolie

Care Team Coordinator

Sylivia has spent her most of her career in and around the care sector. She started delivering care for adults with special needs, providing vital mentorship and support. Sylvia is also very active in the community, volunteering as a youth minister in her local church and supporting family and friends in any way she can.

At Senior Helpers, she has shone brightly proving to be an excellent Care Giver. A true people person with a contagious disposition, bringing joy to those around her.

All of this, along with the training she has received has equipped her well to coordinate our team to deliver exception service to all our clients.

Senior Helpers of Bolingbrook Staff Appreciation Day

Celebrating a great team and having fun at our Senior Helpers of Bolingbrook Staff Appreciation Day - a perfect occasion to celebrate all that we have delivered caring for our clients. Thank you so much for all that you do - you truly make a difference to people’s lives. #staffappreciation #seniorcare #caregiver #bettertogether #lovewhatyoudo

Meet the Bolingbrook office

Our History

Our process

Meet the Bolingbrook Team

Photos from the Bolingbrook Office

Senior Helpers of Bolingbrook Staff Appreciation Day

Areas We Serve