Plenty of Volunteer Opportunities Available for Seniors
SALT LAKE CITY -The Utah Commission on Volunteers in partnership with the State office of the Corporation for National and Community Service and Senior Corps programs around the state will join the nationwide celebration of the first Senior Corps Week, September 20-24, spotlighting the extraordinary work done by Senior Corps members in communities all across Utah.
“Across the state older adults are serving each year as tutors and mentors of children, helping frail seniors remain independent, and responding to disasters,” Jake Murakami, State Director for the Corporation for National and Community Service said. “We are thrilled to be shining the spotlight on the positive impacts volunteers age 55+ are having in our communities during this first annual Senior Corps Week.”
Senior Corps works through existing organizations and helps them reach more people and better achieve their mission. For more than four decades, the three Senior Corps programs—RSVP, Foster Grandparents, and Senior Companions—have engaged age 55-plus volunteers in service to meet critical needs. Last year, nearly 500,000 Senior Corps volunteers provided 98 million hours of service estimated to be worth more than $2 billion. In Utah 7,000 seniors volunteer providing 1.3 million hours of service with an economic impact of $22.6 million.
“We are proud to be part of Senior Corps and grateful for the members who are getting things done,” Dwight Rasmussen, Program Manager for Foster Grandparents and Senior Companion of Salt Lake Aging Service said. “Senior Corps members have made a tremendous impact allowing us to extend our outreach and services.”
To mark Senior Corps Week, we are celebrating the efforts of senior volunteers across the state. Volunteers just like Charles Middleton, 90 and Gaitha Butterfield, 98.
Charles Middleton, an RSVP member in Utah County, has been married to his wife Mary for 65 years. Mary has Alzheimer’s. Charles does not let Mary’s illness overwhelm his life. After tenderly dressing and feeding Mary, Charles puts on her wig and leads her to the car. Then they are off together delivering Meals-on-Wheels to homebound seniors in Lehi and Orem.
“It isn’t really a sacrifice to do this,” Middleton said. “I have been enriched through the satisfaction I gain by fulfilling the needs of others around me. I want Mary, and all the seniors I help, to retain their independence, dignity and self-respect as they age.”
Gaitha “Grandma” Butterfield, a Foster Grandparent volunteer in Davis County, joined the Senior Corps program in June of 2005 at the young age of 93. Since then she has dedicated twenty hours a week helping students improve their reading and academic skills at Green Acres Elementary in North Ogden Utah. In the four and a half years she has tutored at the school she has served 3,665 hours. At the age of 98 and standing as tall as most of the children she serves, Gaitha is one of the most dependable volunteers in the program.
“Gaitha is always willing to do whatever she can,” Maryann Rackham, volunteer coordinator at Green Acres Elementary said. “She sees the positive attributes in people and often comments, ‘I can’t believe those students can read so well. They are so cute!’”
In addition to these Senior Corps programs, there are numerous opportunities for older adults to serve their communities. You may find these opportunities through a volunteer matching database on the Commission’s website www.volunteers.utah.gov. This database can be searched by interest, location, skills, etc.
“Given the many social needs facing our communities this is a moment of unprecedented need and opportunity for older adults to serve,” Shar Lewis, Executive Director for the Utah Commission on Volunteers said. “Your valuable life experience and skills can directly help someone in need and make a critical impact in our communities.”
For more information on Senior Corps programs visit www.seniorcorps.gov or contact Jake Murakami at 801.524.5411. For statewide volunteer opportunities visit www.volunteers.utah.gov or contact your local volunteer center.
The mission of the Utah Commission on Volunteers, an office of the Lieutenant Governor, is to improve communities through service and volunteering.
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