Sheryl Keeme

At Neighbors Who Care, helping volunteers feel successful is important to us. After all, without them, there would be no Neighbors Who Care. While most of the services our volunteers deliver to our clients are little more than a simple drive to the grocery store or a respite visit offering a break to one of our client’s caregivers, one can still feel uneasy when they are helping people whom they are meeting for the first time.

That’s why we are offering a few workshops on helping our volunteers bone up on a few skills that will help us to help them to help our clients. In addition, because, historically, we get a larger influx of potential volunteers in October and November each year, thanks to the generosity of many HOA Open Houses where we have an information table for volunteer sign-ups, we also will offer a few larger group orientations to accommodate the numbers. We’re grateful to be working with Lynda Schug at Cottonwood Palo Verde to arrange to hold these in the Lecture Hall.

We will be offering the following classes:

Neighbors Who Care – Portal Use for Easily Choosing Volunteer Options from Our Clients

Nov. 9 at 10:30 a.m. in the Cottonwood Lecture Hall

In this course, we will help those volunteers who are willing to transport our clients understand how to use our online portal. The portal is a way to “shop” for transportation or errands requested by clients. It helps volunteers plan their time and volunteer events while opting out of calls from our scheduler volunteers. The portal is simple to use and offers a way to submit miles and time as well, without calling the office, and you will get email reminders of your upcoming events.

Neighbors Who Care – Friendly Visits and Respite Care

Nov. 16 at 10:30 a.m. in the Cottonwood Lecture Hall

Spending time with someone, keeping them company, and offering caregivers a chance to catch up on their own business are part of Friendly Visits, Reassurance Calling, and Respite Care services. This class is meant to help folks start and maintain conversations with others who may have trouble hearing, understanding, or remembering. We also will offer some tips on how to enjoy the time you spend with clients and ways to make the time pass more quickly and enjoyably.

Dementia Friendly Info Class – Communication and Engagement Tips

Nov. 14 at 10:30 a.m. in the Cottonwood Lecture Hall

This class is a one-hour class that is meant for any member of the community. A family member of someone with dementia, friends and associates, neighbors, business owners, and civic groups will find the information in this class useful for interacting with friends who may be caring for a loved one with dementia, the person with dementia, and volunteering to help someone with dementia.

For a positive volunteering experience when helping folks living with dementia, sign up for this free one-hour class today.

To register for any of these classes, please call Neighbors Who Care at 480-895-7133, Ext. 170, or email Sheryl Keeme at [email protected].