THANK YOU to all Patriots fans that made a difference through the book, food, coat and toy collections at this season's Patriots home games!
This Week we Celebrate Senior Advocate Volunteerism!
For the week of November 25, the Patriots Charitable Foundation will work in cooperation Generations Incorporated, HESSCO Elder Services, Foxborough Council on Aging & Human Services and the Pond Home.
How do Senior Advocate volunteers make an impact?Generations Incorporated
- Senior volunteers demonstrate the value of experience in solving serious social problems - from education to the environment, health care to homelessness.
- Older adults who volunteer have better overall health. Volunteers in our program report being more active, less isolated, feel stronger, and are less depressed
- The number of Americans over 55 will grow to 108 million in 2030. That's up from 60 million today. Never before have so many people had so much knowledge - and so much time to use it!
HESSCO Elder Services
- Volunteers can use their specialized skills and interests in volunteering to make a lasting difference
- Volunteer opportunities are flexible and rewarding
- Volunteering can use existing skills and expertise or allow for new skill development and learning opportunities
- Volunteering allows for the development of new, meaningful relationships
- Volunteering creates stronger bonds to the community
- HESSCO depends on the support of volunteers for services that would otherwise be impossible to provide
- HESSCO volunteers advocate for the needs, safety, and rights of those who may not be able to advocate for themselves
Foxborough Council on Aging & Human Services
- Studies confirm that seniors who stay actively involved with their community by giving of themselves live longer more productive lives. *They have improved self-reported health; reduced depressive symptoms; better cognitive and physical functioning. (* Today's Research on Aging, Issue 21, August 2011
- "Volunteerism strengthens civil society by engaging more people in the community" (Morrow-Howell 2010)
- People who volunteer report feeling a greater sense of self worth and purpose.
- Volunteers selflessly share their compassion, patience, caring and love. Being on the receiving end of this is a humbling experience.
- With limited resources, our programs could be diminished significantly if it were not for the wonderful volunteers who devote themselves to the FCOA & HS programs. Volunteers are the core of many of the Senior Center programs. Recruiting and retaining our volunteers is essential to keep many of our weekly programs running. Our volunteers say they feel that helping out gives them a sense of ownership, and belonging.
- Volunteers are never isolated or lonely. They are actively engaged in life!
Pond Home
- Volunteers enhance our resident Activity Program
- Volunteers allow us to offer more individualized attention to our residents - this helps them be successful at the activities they choose to do
- When you volunteer with the senior population you get back a healthy perspective on life - makes you realize what is really important in life - family, friends, and the positive connections you make in life - not how much money you make, etc.
Congratulations to this week's "Patriots Difference Maker" - Virginia Hartin
Virginia Hartin ,Volunteer, HESSCO Virginia Hartin is a lifelong Foxboro resident who has volunteered for HESSCO since 1991. Over the years, "Ginny" has served in nine different capacities, ranging from Nursing Facility Ombudsman, to health care advocate and Meals on Wheels Driver. She is enthusiastic, patient and kind. Ginny is the model of what volunteerism can accomplish. In 2001, Ginny was a founding member of the Elder Dental Program, which provides low income seniors with discounted dental care. She donates over 40 hours per month volunteering at the Foxboro Congregate Meal Site three days per week. She provides her years of knowledge and expertise regarding our services as part of the agency's Nutrition Program advisory council. During the fall of this year, Ginny composed a fund development letter for the agency, in effort to raise funds for HESSCO from fellow volunteers. The seniors in South Norfolk County would not be served in the same capacity without Mrs. Virginia Hartin and the Foxboro meal site would be a little less sunny, without her charismatic, kind and generous nature.
What Senior Advocate volunteer opportunities can I pursue?
Generations Incorporated
- Experience Corps Member: Become a trained Experience Corps member and work in teams at local schools and after-school programs where you will be paired with children who are reading below grade level. Most Experience Corps members meet with a child twice a week in one-on-one tutoring sessions. Find out more at: http://www.generationsinc.org/volunteer/experience-corps/ or email Katie Klister (kklister@generationsinc.org).
- Bookfolder Party: Book folders serve as a "road map" for the volunteer as they coach children. They are full of great learning material, such as: conversation starters, open-ended questions about the text, challenging vocabulary words, and writing exercises. Each Book Folder is creatively designed by volunteers, and we provide materials and instructions. Our Book Folder Events are a great way to engage the corporate community in one-time volunteer service. They are great service opportunities to reconnect you to your childhood and ignite your inner artist, and it provides an instrumental and important resource to our programs. Find out more at: http://www.generationsinc.org/volunteer/corporate-volunteers/ or email Sydney Perkins (sperkins@generationsinc.org to schedule an event.
- AmeriCorps: Are you interested in bridging the generational gap by coordinating our community-based intergenerational literacy programs? Do you want to dedicate a year to serving these generations in Greater Boston? If so, becoming a Program Associate at Generations Incorporated may be right for you! Find out more at: http://www.generationsinc.org/volunteer/americorps/ or by contact Katie Klister (kklister@generationsinc.org)
HESSCO Elder Services
- Meals on Wheels drivers deliver meals to frail elders living at home. Drivers are desperately needed in many of our towns.
- Dining room volunteers help package home-delivered meals, set up the dining room, and clean up after meals.
- Ombudsman Program volunteers advocate for elderly nursing home residents to ensure that they receive the care and services to which they are entitled.
- Money Managers help low-income elders to effectively budget and manage their money.
- SHINE counselors help people to better understand Medicare and Medicaid regulations and to receive the health and medical benefits to which they are entitled.
- All of our volunteer opportunities and our application can be found at: http://www.hessco.org/volunteer
Foxborough Council on Aging & Human Services
- We need talented volunteer instructors to do programs at the senior center. Many of our volunteer instructors are retired teachers.
- We have opportunities for volunteers to work four hour shifts in our front office, to help answering the phones, helping customers at the counter, help with some office tasks.
- We have opportunities for people who would like to be a Volunteer Friendly Visitor. They would be assigned a client (s), they would be responsible for providing socialization with a homebound senior. This could mean reading the newspaper or mail to a visually impaired person or providing a lonely senior with a weekly visit, opportunity for life review/reminiscences, going for a walk, etc. based on the seniors needs.
- We need help with special events ~ set up, serving, clean up.
- We need volunteers for our Citizens Reserve Corps. These people would be trained and available to help out in an emergency situation that effects the whole town.
- We need volunteers for our Medical Reserve Corps. These people have a medical background (doctors, nurses, dentists, vets, etc. who could help out in a town wide emergency with administration of medications.
Pond Home
- Activities Department - Barbara Larsen Activity Director 508-384-3531 ext. 236
- Volunteers can help with specific activities, be friendly visitors to specific residents, or help with the organization of activities
The Patriots Charitable Foundation is proud to work in conjunction with Generations Incorporated, HESSCO Elder Services, Foxborough Council on Aging & Human Services and the Pond Home for "Senior Advocate Volunteerism Week"
Generations Incorporated Generations Incorporated strengthens individuals and communities in Greater Boston by uniting older adults ages 55+ seeking meaningful opportunities for community service with K-3rd grade students in need of literacy tutoring. Each year, we engage nearly 300 older adult volunteers to deliver the nationally recognized Experience Corps literacy intervention to more than 2,500 public school students. We have two innovate student interventions: Reading Coaches is an intensive one-on-one mentoring program which follows a standard literacy curriculum focused on boosting student vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension. Classroom Literacy is a program that brings volunteers into elementary school classrooms to work in small group sessions with students. Volunteers reinforce teacher instruction and reduce the average student:teacher ratio to provide small group interactions which are key for productive learning.
HESSCO Elder Services HESSCO Elder Services is a local non-profit organization established in 1977. Our goal is to make aging easier for individuals, their families and their caregivers through improved access to a comprehensive system of health and supportive services. Our services include, Meals on Wheels, Congregate Dining Sites, homemaking, laundry, caregiver support, benefits counseling, education, nutrition counseling, and advocacy. We serve aged 60 and over and caregivers in the towns of Canton, Dedham, Foxboro, Medfield, Millis, Norfolk, Norwood, Plainville, Sharon, Walpole, Westwood, and Wrentham. Annually we serve over 11,000 individuals and provide support, services or education. Each year, HESSCO's 768 volunteers serve more than 8,000 individuals, donate more than 44,000 hours of service, serve over 150,000 meals and save Medicare beneficiaries nearly $4,000,000 in expenses.
Foxborough Council on Aging & Human Services The Foxboro Council on Aging & Human Services (FCOA & HS) is a municipal office of the Town of Foxboro. We provide essential services and programs to the community. The Foxboro Senior Center is the cornerstone of the senior community.
We have 3 major components:
- We are the human services agency that assists any Foxboro resident in need of social services interventions.
- We are the COA responsible for meeting the needs of seniors (60 +) through outreach programs and services designed to help them maintain their independence in the community.
- We are the Foxboro Senior Center where a host of educational programs, health clinics, social events and activities take place
Pond Home Pond Home is a non-profit long term care facility offering Residential Care & Supportive Nursing Care in a beautiful colonial home. Pond Home was incorporated in 1899 and began to care for the first residents in 1902. Since then we have been in continuous operation within the town of Wrentham. Pond Home is managed by Rogerson Communities, another successful non-profit in the long term care field.
