The Patriots Celebrate Volunteerism

This Week we Celebrate Senior Advocate Volunteerism!

• 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 Generations Incorporated’s programming report being more active, less isolated, and feel stronger, mentally and physically.
• 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 to help others! Southern Maine Agency on Aging
• The Southern Maine Agency on Aging (SMAA) relies on the support of more than 800 active volunteers to provide our services to more than 20,000 older adults and their families in southern Maine each year.
• Agency volunteers help seniors manage their finances, are responsible for delivering more than 175,000 Meals on Wheels each year, help seniors cope with chronic illness, provide Medicare and insurance counseling, provide grocery shopping assistance, and much more.
• The population of people over 65 in York and Cumberland Counties (the two counties served by the Agency) will have increased by more than 43,500 between 2008 and 2020, making it even more imperative that the services provided by the Agency are accessible to older adults and their families.

Springwell

• Relieve isolation and loneliness of people who are growing older
• Help seniors remain in the community and in their own homes as they age
• Help seniors get access to medical and home care services
• The population of people over 65 in York and Cumberland Counties (the two counties served by the Agency) will have increased by more than 43,500 between 2008 and 2020, making it even more imperative that the services provided by the Agency are accessible to older adults and their families.

Congratulations to this week's "Patriots Difference Maker" – Joan DeFinis

Joan DeFinis
Volunteer, Springwell

Joan DeFinis joined the AARP Massachusetts Money Management Program in October 2004. She stated that she wanted to alleviate the anxiety and stress that can surround daily financial management tasks for individuals who may be challenged by age or life events, such as illness, divorce or widowhood. Since that time, she has demonstrated a tremendous willingness to take on challenges and work with varied clients. She currently is working with four clients, each of whom presents various issues. Joan is very reliable and committed to the Money Management Program, as well as to her clients. She has served her clients well, all of whom greatly benefit from Joan’s regular visits and organizational and financial skills. In June 2005, Joan also became an Active Member of the American Association of Daily Money Managers. Additionally, Joan agreed to join the Advisory Council for the Money Management Program at Springwell in June 2006. Her support and input has been invaluable, as she shares some of her experiences as a bill payer and representative payee with the other Council members to give them a better understanding of the Program. By maintaining her clients’ financial stability, her clients are able to pay their rent on time, ensuring that they will not be evicted from their apartments, as well as making sure that their medical insurance premiums are paid on time, enabling them to have continuous insurance coverage. As a result of Joan volunteering with the AARP Massachusetts Money Management Program, Joan’s clients have a more improved quality of life, by being in a much more stable financial condition and having less financial issues to worry about. They are assured that their life necessities will be paid every month, on time. Each of her clients gets very specialized treatment from Joan that enables them to live with a considerable amount of financial freedom.


What senior advocate volunteer opportunities can I pursue?

Generations Incorporated

• AARP Experience Corps Volunteer Member: Become a trained AARP Experience Corps volunteer member and work in teams at local schools and after-school programs where you will be paired with children either one-on-one or in small group, who are in need of a literacy intervention. 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 Mike O’Brien ( mobrien@generationsinc.org ) to schedule an event.

Southern Maine Agency on Aging

• Delivering Meals on Wheels to homebound seniors.
• Become a Money Minders volunteer and help older adults with their everyday finances.
• Help with activities such as arts and crafts, pet therapy, games, storytelling, music and gardening at our Truslow Adult

Day Center

* To get more information on these and the many more volunteer opportunities available at the Agency, contact our Volunteer Services department at 207-396-6525 or crancourt@smaaa.org.


Springwell

• Friendly Visitors provide companionship to elders, sharing a hobby, going for walks, and being a friend.
• Shopping Assistants escort elders on grocery shopping trips, or shop for them
• Medical Escorts drive elders to medical appointments
• Benefit Application Volunteers meet with elders and assist with the application process for public benefits such as Mass Health and SNAP (food stamps)
• Money Managers assist elders in budgeting, bill paying and checkbook balancing. *To volunteer email Wendy at: wadlerstein@springwell.com

The Patriots Charitable Foundation is proud to work in conjunction with Generations Incorporated, Southern Maine Agency on Aging, and Springwell for "Senior Advocate Volunteerism Week.

Generations Incorporated
Generations Incorporated works to ensure that low income children begin the fourth grade with proficient literacy skills. They place a very strong emphasis on early literacy, the basic foundation that children need to develop in Kindergarten and first grade. And their work is carried out by engaging talented older adults as literacy volunteers who have the time and the passion to help young children.

Southern Maine Agency on Aging
Since 1973, the Southern Maine Agency on Aging, a private nonprofit organization, has been dedicated to its mission of improving the physical, social, emotional, and economic well-being of older adults in southern Maine. The Agency serves more than 20,000 older adults and their families annually in 53 towns in York and Cumberland counties of Maine. Agency services focus on enabling the dramatically increasing number of older adults in Maine to age in place and live with dignity.

Springwell
Springwell is a private, non-profit agency providing comprehensive services to seniors, individuals with disabilities and those who care for them, guided by a commitment to the individual’s right to live independently in the community. Springwell has been creating, managing, and coordinating these services for more than 30 years. Springwell covers 8 towns which in include Belmont, Brookline, Needham, Newton, Waltham, Watertown, Wellesley and Weston. Our reputation for excellence is why more than 10,000 families turn to us each year for support.