Participating in the Friends & Family program, which provides assistance and companionship to displaced or immobile seniors, is a much-needed avenue to extend your heart to a senior in need of affection.
We’d like to share two options that you can tailor with your time and talents to show love to seniors in a meaningful way.
Deliver Monthly Commodities
Volunteers provide commodities to neighboring seniors once a month. The volunteers meet at the Food Pantry in the morning to pick up kitchen staples, toiletries, small gifts and pertinent information to share with the seniors. The route from start to finish typically lasts an hour and a half.
Those unable to commit to monthly deliveries can also sign up to become substitutes if there is a shortage or special need. The next commodities date is August 17. Contact Friends & Family Coordinator Maryann Waddell if you’d like to help.
Provide Companionship as a Volunteer Match
Another way to serve at Friends & Family is to become a volunteer match. Volunteers are carefully matched with seniors that are compatible with their personality and schedule. Some volunteers opt for weekly calls to check on the senior, companionship visits, and the occasional delivery or errand.
Each volunteer role is unique according to the match, and to the extent you are available to serve, there are seniors waiting to get to know you and appreciate you.
What’s new with Friends & Family
A primary focus with Friends & Family is to meet the emerging needs of clients on an individual basis. Here are some recent examples GRACE utilizes the community’s resources to ensure each individual need is met.
Community Steps up to the Ramp
After establishing rapport with a senior couple, a Friends & Family volunteer couldn’t help but notice the rickety entrance leading to this couple’s mobile home.
This was especially bothersome, since one of the seniors is physically handicapped. GRACE reached out to find a solution and enlisted the help of GRACE supporter Shawn Goff, owner of Graham Hart Home Builders. Goff reached out to his contacts and personally donated the materials and labor for the eight-hour project.
Not only does this couple have a functional, proper ramp to go into their home, members of this community had the opportunity to recognize a need and step up to make a safe place for our senior friends.
Program Now Offers Refurbished Hearing Aids
One can imagine how isolated it might feel to struggle with a severe hearing impairment on a daily basis. The challenge to integrate into society already has its obstacles for many seniors, and a lack of hearing confidence can harbor isolation and depression.
Fortunately a recent partnership with Audiologist Dr. Navarro and a grant have allowed GRACE to furnish some hearing aids on a case by case basis. This could have a life-altering impact to a senior who had grown accustomed to faint understanding of daily interactions.
GRACE loves these seniors, and so do the volunteers who get involved in their lives through GRACE! Contact Maryann Waddell to answer any questions and see what might be a good service opportunity for you.
