A Perfect Match
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2006-10-23 12:32:00-04:00
All volunteers in the AARP/Volunteer Service to Seniors—Faith in Action Program are enthusiastic and compassionate adults with a desire to share their time and have fun as they enrich the lives of seniors in their community. They derive personal satisfaction from helping others.
Often these volunteers are without the opportunity to assist their own mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles or siblings. Their loved one might be deceased or simply living too far away for them to provide the necessary care, so the volunteer may then choose to help a senior in his/her community as a way of "giving back."
Questions often arise in regard to how a volunteer and care recipient are matched. Generally, the care recipient is a senior—either living alone or with a spouse—who requires assistance to remain proudly independent in their home. Often it is possible to secure a match right in one's own neighborhood.
Laura Stacey is an extraordinary example of an AARP Faith in Action volunteer in Mahoning County. Stacey is a retired bookkeeper who has served on corporate boards in Indiana and Minnesota and who recently has completed sixteen years of service on the local school board in Poland, Ohio.
Stacey first met her care recipient in January 2006. This individual was in need of assistance due to Parkinson's disease. She was concerned that she might risk her life or put the lives of others in jeopardy if she were to continue driving.
Through Stacey's assistance with transportation to medical appointments, grocery shopping, swim exercises at the local "Y," and friendly visits the two ladies have become friends. On occasion when schedules and health allow, they also enjoy lunch together.
Stacey maintains that as they help each other, they both have gained an important friend and "sister" along their journey. One needs more physical assistance, yet they both help each other in so many ways. As each reminisces, those friendly visits and lengthy conversations warm their hearts and souls. Truly this is an example of how two lives have been enriched through volunteering with the AARP/Volunteer Service to Seniors—Faith in Action Program. The ladies often smile and say, "Thank you, AARP."
Other Resources
- Volunteer Services Agency, Inc.
Find out more about Volunteer Service to Seniors—Faith in Action Program. - Find a Faith in Action Program Near You
Use this link to find out if there is a Faith in Action program near you.
AARP partner programs will be marked.
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