Volunteers including youth and adult sponsors show up to offer timely help to seniors who can benefit from a support system. This Serving Our Seniors (S.O.S.) program provides encouragement and a variety of services in various communities across the nation.
How Serving Our Seniors Works
In Montgomery County, Texas, each spring and fall volunteer teens, family members, and other adults from many houses of faith gather to launch a day of service to seniors in the community. Teams go to seniors' homes to accomplish a pre-arranged list of tasks chosen by the senior on a written form which was clarified by a visit during weeks previous to the target date.
They wear clearly marked T-shirts so the older adults can feel safe with their being on the property. They cheerily do tasks the senior may find difficult or expensive like trimming, mowing, mulching, or even fixing a fence, These volunteers may even do inside tasks like washing windows or minor repairs.
Advantages of Serving Our Seniors Program
Perhaps the most shining benefit from this day is the encouragement felt by the seniors being served. Having a day of catching up on the many chores which seem to pile up as energy is lessening makes these older adults feel more hope in managing daily life. With the economy making it harder to hire things done along with the aging process sapping some of their endurance, seniors are at risk of becoming discouraged as undone work accumulates.
The volunteers, both young people and adults, claim it gives them satisfaction to know they have been of significant help to people who truly need it. They notice the obvious difference between when they arrive and when they are leaving, and realize how important their day really was.
Intergenerational Benefits of Serving Our Seniors Day
There are several opportunities for intergenerational experiences during this special day set aside for volunteering. There is communication between adult sponsors and seniors, the youth and seniors as well as between the youth and their adult sponsors. There is also a camaraderie of working together for these young people and the adult volunteers. Working across age groups increases empathy and understanding for all involved in the experience.
This day of service provides an opportunity to promote cross-generational understanding among all three groups involved. The youth volunteers have an up close and personal view of different points on the life span and challenges faced by each. Adult sponsors have a chance to be reminded of the needs faced during the aging process. This may help them plan for their own future as well as be more supportive of their own friends and family who are dealing with their senior years.
On October 15, 2011 Grant, Jake, Brandon, Zach, Greg, David, and Michelle gathered at Larry M.'s house to clean up and catch up the yard. This group from The Woodlands, Texas, were among many groups who gave seniors in the community a lift that day. The older people being helped find great relief in the tasks done on SOS Day, as well as enjoyment of the company and kind support given by these attentive volunteers. Who knows? These teens may decide to help with Meals on Wheels someday!
Hildra Tague - Mrs. Hildra Tague is a freelance writer, consultant, and teacher dedicated to issues of education and parenting. This all started when she ...
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