What We Do
What We Do
Provide Social Support For the Elderly
For many, isolation comes with growing older. Children move away, a car wears out and is not replaced, or a driver’s license is surrendered. This isolation is compounded by poverty.
Working Towards a Better Tomorrow
ONE-ON-ONE VISITING
Visiting Volunteers
Become a “visiting volunteer” to an elderly person living in the Tri-state area. The elderly friends we visit on a regular basis are people who have little social support. They are often lonely and would welcome a friendly visitor. This program is at the heart of our effort to provide friendship and social contact.
We require visiting volunteers to make an initial one-year commitment to visit their elderly friend on a regular basis — twice monthly. Your time spent together is up to you and your elderly friend as far as when you visit, what you do, and where you may go together. Visiting volunteers are assigned a current visiting volunteer mentor after completion of our orientation to assist with the matching process and answer any questions.
Telephone Reassurance
Volunteers are needed to call our elderly friends on a regular basis.
Volunteers are matched one-on-one with an elder and asked to call on a weekly basis.
MONTHLY PROGRAMS AND SOCIAL OUTINGS
Social Outings
Throughout the year, especially in the summer, we plan outings for the elderly to enjoy. These may include ballgames, picnics, a fishing trip, and special theme parties (St. Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Halloween). Volunteers help by hosting, driving elderly to and from the event location, and setup/breakdown of the event.
Birthday Celebrations
One of the nicest things we can do is remembering our older friend’s birthday. Volunteers visit, share a cake, and bring gifts and flowers to an elderly person on his or her birthday. This is a commitment on that day of approximately 1–2 hours and is a lot of fun. We supply the cake, gifts, and flowers, and you supply the friendship.
Art Programs
On the first Tuesday of every month at 1:30pm, we bring our elderly friends interested in expressing their artistic side to our office for an afternoon of art. Volunteers coordinate the activities, and the donations of art supplies; assistance is also needed with transportation.
Making Holidays Special for the Elderly
At Little Brothers–Friends of the Elderly, we believe in the power of companionship, especially during the holiday season when feelings of loneliness can be heightened for our elderly friends. We make it a point to visit them in their homes or apartments on special days like Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Each visit is accompanied by a warm meal, beautiful flowers, and a few extra surprises to brighten their day. We also extend our holiday cheer to three local nursing homes.
If you have a special talent, we’d love for you to share it with us! We’re always on the lookout for entertainers like magicians, singers, musicians, and more to add a touch of magic to our holiday parties.
