Looking for the best way to serve your community? Don’t overlook volunteering with your local senior living organization. When you work with seniors, you make a positive impact not only on them, but on yourself and your entire community.
Here are just some of the reasons why volunteering with a senior living community or organization is one of the best ways to make a difference:
1. Opportunities for New Knowledge
When you work or volunteer at a retirement community, you get to interact regularly with seniors who have a wealth of valuable life experiences. Many of them will want to share their stories with you, which helps them feel empowered and respected. You’ll have the opportunity to make a profound, positive difference in someone else’s life, all while gaining new knowledge for yourself.
2. A Chance to Share Your Own Knowledge
Just as the seniors you’re working with will be happy to share their knowledge with you, they’ll also want to learn what you have to teach them. Whether you know a lot about computers, arts and crafts, foreign languages, history or any other specialized topic or skill, you’ll likely have a chance to share what you know.
3. An Opportunity to Feed the Hungry
Food access is often a serious problem for seniors, especially those who live by themselves, have mobility issues or are unable to drive. But through programs like Deupree Meals On Wheels, you can bring these seniors delicious, nutritious meals on a regular basis and help to counter one of the most commons sources of hunger in the modern United States.
Providing meals to seniors isn’t just good for their health. It also helps them live independently in their own homes for longer and provides a valuable source of companionship for seniors who don't get many visitors.
4. Access to Delicious Meals for Yourself
While delivering or serving meals to seniors, or volunteering in a retirement community itself, you’ll usually have a chance to enjoy some of the delicious food the community provides. So if you like to try different cuisines, this is a great way to do it!
Many of the seniors you’re serving relish the idea of sharing a meal with someone, and consider that a critical part of the experience. In other words, you have the opportunity to make a positive difference while enjoying a delicious meal — what could be better?
5. Valuable Job Experience
Medical occupations are among the most rapidly-expanding professional fields in modern America. By working with senior service organizations, you can meet people in these fields and learn about following in their footsteps. Even if you decide you don’t want one of these jobs, senior services organizations also employ cooks, administrators, accountants and a wide variety of other professionals.
6. Access to Health Advice & Resources
Besides learning about a possible career in health services, working with a senior living organization helps you improve your own health. Many such organizations give out free flu shots and provide other resources about how to stay healthy. Finally, if you help out with senior exercise programs, you'll have a chance to get a great workout while volunteering.
Want more information about volunteering for ERS? Contact us and learn more about the many benefits of volunteering for seniors — and yourself.
