Jennifer Gustafson, Community Outreach Manager
On August 21, our nation will observe National Senior Citizens Day to show appreciation for the value and contributions of older Americans to home, family and society.
This national observance was first established by President Ronald Reagan on August 19, 1988. In his proclamation, Reagan said, “For all they have achieved throughout life and for all they continue to accomplish, we owe older citizens our thanks and a heartfelt salute.” He added, “We can best demonstrate our gratitude and esteem by making sure that our communities are good places in which to mature and grow older.”
Our Local Impact
At Neighbors Who Care, we are fortunate to partner with so many of you, whether you are a client, volunteer or supporter. Together, we are doing great things every day to help our neighbors with everyday, essential needs.
Since our beginnings in 1994, our volunteers have served thousands of Sun Lakes/South Chandler residents on close to 180,000 occasions. In our 2017-18 fiscal year alone, we brought on 331 new clients. In this same timeframe, we delivered 8396 meals, bringing our all-time count of dinner deliveries to nearly 130,000. Over the years, our volunteers have also collectively driven almost 150,000 miles while taking clients to medical appointments, grocery shopping and on errands, as well as spent an incredible number of hours with other services such as friendly visiting, respite care, minor repairs and reassurance calling.
While these numbers are staggering, they are not all that define us at Neighbors Who Care. Plain and simple, it’s our volunteers — many of whom are SunBird residents. Without their time, talents and tenderheartedness, so many of our clients would not be able to stay in their homes and maintain their independence and dignity. To all of you who make a difference, we salute you today and every day!
What’s the Commitment?
Have you thought about being a Neighbors Who Care volunteer but weren’t sure about the expectations? You aren’t the only one! But we have good news for you. The beauty of volunteering with us is that we offer flexible scheduling and assignments based on your availability and interests. You tell us when you can volunteer and what services you would like to provide. Further, we give you advance notice as well as the opportunity to decline any assignment if you are not interested or free on any given day. If you only can help out once a week or a couple of times a month, that’s perfectly fine!
Now that you know how easy it is to be a Neighbors Who Care volunteer, we invite you to join our team. All it takes is a little time and a heart to help your neighbors in our amazing community.
To learn more about volunteering, please contact us at 480-895-7133 or visit our website at www.neighborswhocare.com/volunteer/.