Advocates

Framingham, Massachusetts | www.advocates.org

Caring Connections Across Communities is a collaborative project across multiple urban and suburban communities in Massachusetts that will reduce loneliness and social isolation among older adults and adults with disabilities. We will pilot two projects – in Boston and MetroWest – and recruit 70 volunteers and 70 care recipients from MetroWest and Boston’s African immigrant and refugee communities. Volunteers will create connections with care recipients, help them with day-to-day tasks, encourage participation in virtual and community activities, and overall, decrease feelings of loneliness and social isolation. In addition, volunteers will provide respite for family caregivers.

 

Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut

North Haven, Connecticut | www.aoascc.org

The Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut’s model, in partnership with Trusted Ride-Certified, aims to improve the general health and well-being of older adults and people with disabilities by decreasing the number of missed medical appointments or procedures resulting from the current transportation barriers. Partnering with medical providers and other essential health services we will expand the number of vulnerable individuals who know about and receive Chaperone services. AOASCC’s model includes building a network of screened and trained volunteer chaperones to offer door to door support to referred individuals. Chaperones will provide more personalized pre-appointment support through phone calls, establishing a rapport and level of trust. Accompany the client to and from their appointment and/or treatment through the utilization of existing modes of transportation.

 

Alamo Area Council of Governments

San Antonio, Texas | www.aacog.com

AACOG seeks to expand its volunteer program that supports persons age 60 and older by adding 35 new volunteers that are age 21 and older, and to expand the population served to include persons 18 and older with IDD. Inclusion of the adult IDD community will serve to fill the gap for addressing the changing needs of adults with IDD in Bexar County. The program expects to serve 700 people. Of those impacted by these services, 400 will be unduplicated, meaning that 400 tasks will take place with persons that have not already been helped by this program and 300 that are repeat utilizers and will be assisted again with a different task within the program. The participants served in this program can be people that have been assisted within the agency before, but not with these specific services.  

 

Arlington Neighborhood Village

Arlington, Virginia | www.arlnvil.org

Extending Village Services to Senior Housing Residents: Arlington Neighborhood Village (ANV), located in Arlington VA, a suburb of Washington DC, is a volunteer driven community-based organization that provides the extra help seniors need to age in place safely. ANV is partnering with two affordable housing providers, Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing and Culpepper Garden, to bring village services to their residents. ANV’s goal is to help more lower-income and diverse seniors to age in place successfully by providing direct volunteer services, reducing social isolation, and strengthening our partners’ existing volunteer programs.

 

Aroostook Agency on Aging

Presque Isle, Maine | www.aroostookaging.org

Aroostook Agency on Aging will further develop our existing Friendly Volunteer Program to address community unmet needs for older persons, those with disabilities, and their caregivers. Our Friendly Volunteers will reduce social isolation; assist with personal errands and home upkeep; link those in need to vital community services; increase consumers' access, knowledge, and usage of telehealth medicine; and connect them to virtual wellness programming and social media outlets. The goals are to increase social inclusion and enhance one's ability to live independently. We will retain 75 existing and recruit 25 new Friendly Volunteers.

 

Ascension Saint Agnes Foundation

Baltimore, Maryland | https://givesaintagnes.org/

The model eliminates barriers to accessing health care as the Trusted Ride Chaperone Program provides one-on-one support to older adults and persons with disabilities who require extra assistance on their trips to and from medical appointments and procedures. Volunteers meet the patient at their doorstep and accompany them in their ride-share vehicle to the hospital and then continue to walk with them all the way to their appointment. This extra support reduces missed and cancelled medical appointments and provides greater health outcomes for patients.

 

At Home by High

Columbus, Ohio | www.athomebyhigh.org

At Home by High will build organizational capacity, recruiting more vulnerable and low-income members, implement an emergency preparedness initiative, and help support caregivers. The goal is to ensure that our members can confidently age in their homes in the community they love. We will be using 30 current volunteers for emergency preparedness and caregiver support for 13 caregivers assisting members and 6 members caring for younger relatives. We will be recruiting and training an additional 20-40 volunteers allowing us to serve an additional 15-20 members within two vulnerable populations of older adults in our service area.

 

Catholic Community Service

Juneau, Alaska | www.ccsak.org

Our model here in Juneau, Alaska is called Friends of Seniors. This program utilizes volunteers who provide non-medical services and supports to individuals 60 and older within the Juneau community.  The services provided fill gaps and help seniors maintain their independence in their homes as well as enhance their sense of connection to the greater community.  What makes our program special is that the foundation is based on building relationships between the participant and the volunteer.  Our volunteers are not just providing services- they are building relationships, and as a result building a stronger, more supported community.  Participants, volunteers, families, and caregivers, and other organizations and agencies are all being positively impacted.  

 

DOROT, Inc.

New York, New York | www.dorotusa.org

DOROT will engage almost 300 volunteers to serve 800+ older adults through Caring Calls, the Manhattan Response Team, and a Westchester Response Team Pilot. Caring Calls matches volunteers to call seniors on a weekly basis for a minimum of eight weeks, although many matches will last longer. Through the Response Team, volunteers provide one-time services such as birthday visits and calls and help with errands and household tasks such as returning library books, organizing paperwork, and taking neighborhood walks, thus decreasing reported social isolation and offering concrete assistance. Through their connections, volunteers may learn additional concerns shared by the older adults so that DOROT can help them access resources and professional support where appropriate and promote aging in place.

 

Duet: Partners In Health & Aging

Phoenix, Arizona | www.duetaz.org\

Duet will pilot the Finding Meaning and Hope Institute, a virtual platform designed to expand resiliency-based support services for family caregivers experiencing declines in health due to their complex grief, known as ambiguous loss, and mitigate stress associated with caring for loved ones with dementia. Duet's model will remotely train 35+ volunteers as facilitators to conduct Duet's free 10-week video discussion series for dementia caregivers in three diverse U.S. cities, and Spanish speakers in Arizona. The Institute will expand Duet's capacity to improve dementia family caregivers’ health and well-being as they learn effective strategies for managing their stress and grief, build resiliency, and restore meaning and hope. Further, it will aid Duet in efficiently supporting volunteers to launch Finding Meaning and Hope in their communities.

 

FamilyMeans

Stillwater, Minnesota | www.familymeans.org

FamilyMeans Caregiving & Aging has supported caregivers and provided meaningful volunteer opportunities for 35 years. First launched by in-home respite, the program has evolved into a successful multi-service model meeting caregivers and care receivers on all points of the journey. Services include caregiver coaching, individual and group respite, support groups, education, outreach, and dementia empowerment programs. In the year ahead, we will enhance current volunteer services to meet the community's need for respite. We seek to: 1) Revitalize in-home respite following a pandemic pause; 2) Continue group respite and expand with a new evening option; and 3) Strengthen our volunteer infrastructure to be adaptable and responsive to a shifting volunteer landscape and increasing respite demands. Services are focused on Minnesota's eastern Twin Cities metropolitan area.

 

Feonix - Mobility Rising

Lincoln, Nebraska | www.feonixmobilityrising.org

Feonix will utilize this opportunity, to strengthen and grow our Volunteer Driver program in the Coastal Bend Region of Texas. Our local Volunteer Coordinator will recruit and vet all Volunteer Drivers and will lead them through the training process. 

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As part of the implementation of this robust volunteer driver program, we will provide innovative ride booking and dispatching technology solutions, as well as a call center to fulfill the needs of all our guests.

 

In addition, we have a partnership with the Unite Us platform in the Coastal Bend, which is a closed loop referral system that allows for a coordinated care network of health and social service providers. In this system, Feonix can receive ride requests from other agencies, and we can refer passengers to agencies that can meet the needs expressed to our drivers, such as food insecurity or utility assistance.

 

Good Shepherd Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers

Shepherdstown, West Virginia | www.gsivc.org

Good Shepherd Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers in a local nonprofit located in the Jefferson County, West Virginia, serving the surrounding area, with the goal of assisting seniors and those living with disabilities to remain living in their community as long as they desire. This model is built on the concept of “neighbors helping neighbors”. Recruited Volunteers provide the requested assistance from seniors and those living with disabilities. Clients (care receivers) complete an application and phone in their needs to Good Shepherd. Then they are matched to a volunteer willing to help them. By receiving the assistance such as transportation to a doctor’s appointment, seniors and those living with disabilities receive help and are able to remain living independently. 

 

Hawaii Pacific Gerontological Society

Honolulu, Hawaii | https://hpgs.org/

The Hawaii Pacific Gerontological Society trains community volunteers and graduate students to become virtual wellness coaches who proactively address the social determinants of health impacting older adults. Volunteer coaches begin by conducting a comprehensive assessment to better understand the strengths, challenges, values, and experiences of each older adult. Together, the pair develops customized wellness goals and appropriate next steps to improve well-being. Volunteers use a variety of strengths-based engagement approaches and are powered by a smart phone system that guides interactions and tracks progress. Our tech-enabled, person-centered model will promote scalable, equitable, and cost-effective solutions that address social and environmental barriers to care.

 

Hospice of the Valley

Phoenix, Arizona | www.hov.org

Hospice of the Valley’s Supportive Care for Dementia (SCD) Partners Program will engage college students in providing non-medical respite assistance for older adults with dementia and family caregivers in central Arizona.  SCD helps persons with dementia not yet on hospice to maintain independence at home.  Partnering with Maricopa Community Colleges, we will recruit and train 50 new student volunteers (“Partners”) to provide weekly non-medical respite visits to 50 SCD program clients and 50-100 family caregivers.  Student incentives include a monthly stipend and scholarship opportunity.  Goals are to reduce family caregiver burden and improve quality of life for persons with dementia.

 

Institute for Community Equity and Sharing, Inc. dba One Community

Brooklyn, New York | https://www.onecommunitynyc.org/

The Sharing Network counters the damage chronic social isolation inflicts on seniors by offering intimate conversation groups over the phone.  During successive terms, fifteen groups meet one hour a week for five weeks. The program was created for seniors isolating during the pandemic without internet access. Participants, most in public housing in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, select from recreational, topical, artistic, active, and spiritual groups led by dedicated volunteer moderators. While not overlooking the significance of the content presented by moderators, the overriding goal of the Sharing Network is to bring people together in safe, supportive spaces where they can build relationships and recover the sense of self derived from social contact. As pandemic restrictions lift, the program aims to serve additional chronically homebound seniors.

 

Jewish Family and Children's Service of Greater Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | www.jfcsphilly.org

JFCS’s Hoarding Support Program offers a range of individual and group services for clients with identified Hoarding Disorder to help them reduce the negative impacts of hoarding behaviors and create stability in their home environments.  JFCS services are based on best practices and guidance from experts in the field. 

 

With Community Care Corps (CCC) funding, JFCS will expand the number of clients served and enhance the types of available services by integrating volunteers into the program. JFCS will train volunteers to support clients with hoarding disorder in various ways. Additional volunteers with lived experience will co-lead support and education-based groups, and JFCS will host three webinars in partnership with the Philadelphia Hoarding Task Force, featuring hoarding disorder experts.

 

Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County, Inc.

Ann Arbor, Michigan | www.jfsannarbor.org

Through 2020-21 support from Community Care Corps and the Oasis Institute, Jewish Family Services (JFS) of Washtenaw County developed an innovative eVolunteering platform to engage participants remotely face-to-face through video calls, livestreaming, and other electronic means. In 2021-22, JFS—along with partnering community-based and faith-based organizations, as well as its technology partner, CommunO2—will customize the video-based technology and activities to enhance inclusion by remotely engaging more and different volunteers and recipients. With support from Community Care Corps and Oasis, this project will improve the quality of life for older adults (60+), people (18+) with disabilities, caregivers, and volunteers; increase opportunities for many who otherwise couldn’t volunteer; reduce the burden on family caregivers; and increase the capacity of community-based and faith-based organizations through enhanced volunteer activities.

 

KAFASI- Kenosha Area Family And Aging Services

Kenosha, Wisconsin | www.kafasi.org

KAFASI's minor home repair and yard maintenance program mobilizes volunteers to assist homeowners 60 and older in Racine and Kenosha Counties (Southeastern WI) stay safe and independent in their homes. Services include repairs such as door locks, gutters, and minor plumbing or electrical. Prevention such as changing light bulbs, furnace filters and weatherization. Plus, lawn care, snow removal, and fall prevention modifications like grab bar or ramp installation. Call 262-658-3508.

 

Living at Home Network

St. Paul, Minnesota | http://lahnetwork.org/

The Living at Home Network (LAHN) model draws volunteers from the community to help older adults remain living independently at home by addressing social isolation, transportation, and other unmet needs. Volunteers provide visits, rides, chores, deliveries, caregiver respite and more. The model uses a unique approach of local ownership to stimulate neighborly caring by volunteers. Concerned about many rural Minnesota communities having few services for older adults, we will build our capacity to expand, start a new program in northwestern Minnesota and expand a central Minnesota program to a nearby community. LAHN is comprised of 32 nonprofits across Minnesota.

 

Lori’s Hands

Newark, Delaware | www.lorishands.org

Lori’s Hands builds mutually beneficial partnerships between community members with chronic illness and college students, fostering empathy, connection, and resilience. Students provide practical assistance to support community members’ independence at home, and community members share their health and life experiences to support students’ learning. Through this unique service-learning model, Lori’s Hands supports aging-in-place while training a next-generation aging services work force. Lori’s Hands serves urban and suburban communities.

 

Meals on Wheels People

Portland, Oregon | www.mowp.org

The Safe Homes for Seniors Project will bring home maintenance services to approximately 750 seniors in the greater Portland, Oregon area during the grant period and annually going forward, by matching skilled volunteers with participants over 60 who need “handyman” assistance around the house. We have identified the need for simple home repairs that would make daily living safer for older adults, as well as routine yard maintenance to minimize outdoor hazards. In addition, this program would address emergency preparedness by providing senior-friendly disaster supply kits for isolated older adults who are particularly vulnerable when catastrophes strike.

 

Movimiento para el Alcance de Vida Independiente

Santurce, Puerto Rico | www.mavi-pr.org

MAVI will be offering a capacity building program for volunteer development focused on the specific needs of people with disabilities and the elderly population. Once trained these volunteers will be able to facilitate special programs and services to people with disabilities, support caregivers, serve as skilled first responders for people with disabilities and have the capability to provide training to other volunteers to ensure program replication and reach.

 

New Mexico Caregivers Coalition

Bernalillo, New Mexico | www.nmdcc.org

New Mexico Caregivers Coalition seeks to help elders age in place by serving them and their family caregivers through educational interventions that result in stress reduction and reduction in social isolation. Educational interventions will include a variety of non-medical courses: infection prevention, safe transfer and mobility, stress management, communications skills, self-advocacy, recognizing opioid overdose, online safety/protecting your identity while online.

 

Peninsula Agency on Aging

Newport News, Virginia | www.paainc.org

Peninsula Agency on Aging’s Caring Neighbors Program will provide transportation, safety check-in calls, friendly visits, canine companion visits, and light housekeeping services to individuals age 60 and over and individuals with a disability. The program will decrease social isolation, increase the ability of participants to age in place and reduce caregiver stress. A total of 160 new volunteers will be recruited and 360 participants will receive over 5,585 services. The ‘Volunteer to Work” program will address the severe shortage of Companion Aides by providing stipends to volunteers as they gain the skills to be hired as paid non-medical Companion Aides.

 

Rebuilding Together New Orleans

New Orleans, Louisiana | www.rtno.org

Rebuilding Together New Orleans (RTNO) will expand our Safe at Home program, offering free critical repair services for low-income elderly and disabled homeowners. The primary goal of the program is improving the health, safety, and mobility for our homeowners, thus dramatically improving their quality of life. Our team of staff and AmeriCorps, in partnership with 1,000 annual volunteers, will expand the program to include 20 additional families over the next 12 months. We believe expanding our Safe at Home program will increase our impact and lead to greater confidence in the ability of older adults to age in place.

 

ShareCare of Leelanau

Leland, Michigan | www.sharecareleelanau.org

ShareCare will focus on family caregivers and those in their care through a volunteer-led mental health and wellness training program. Utilizing a train-the-trainer model, we will provide our volunteers with the tools to teach mindfulness exercises to family caregivers that are aimed to help them (1) learn how to identify and understand their own emotions as well as those of the individual in their care, and (2) meet the individual they are caring for in the present moment to engage fully with them. Once incorporated fully, the caregiver and individual in their care will benefit by being able to better manage their stress and live a more balanced and healthy life in the present.

 

Shepherd's Centers of America

Kansas City, Missouri | www.ShepherdCenters.org

Shepherd’s Centers of America will provide intergenerational volunteer caregiving in Mississippi to reduce social isolation among older adults 65+. Service-learning students from Mississippi Baptist Seminary (MBS) will be matched in meaningful volunteer roles, such as driving to medical appointments or shopping, to support older adults aging in community. The social aspects of volunteer driver programs are fundamental to the service and are meaningful to both young and old. At least 65-70 student volunteers will be recruited to assist 65-85 older adults in two communities, Jackson and Tupelo.

 

Moreover, SCA will develop DEI strategies with guidance from MBS to engage more diverse volunteers, participants, and leaders across our network. As a result, we will be better equipped to replicate services in other communities across Mississippi and the nation.

 

Sibling Leadership Network

Chicago, Illinois | www.siblingleadership.org

The Sibling Leadership Network's (SLN) model will engage volunteers to support adult siblings of people with disabilities, aging parents, and their brothers and sisters with disabilities. SLN will develop a Sib2Sib Mentoring Program that trains volunteers to provide peer mentorship for sibling caregivers. Also, SLN will produce a monthly podcast series that reaches family caregivers, older adults, and people with disabilities, including a Caregiver Spotlight that highlights sibling stories.  Additionally, a monthly virtual peer support forum called Sibposiums will be developed that engages adult siblings providing care for their aging parents and their brothers and sisters with disabilities to receive peer support and share information. SLN serves urban, suburban, and rural communities.

 

St. Vincent Senior Citizens Nutrition Program, Inc.

Los Angeles, California | https://www.svmow.org

St. Vincent Meals on Wheels' Social Call/Friendly Visitor model provides for a continuum of services designed to reduce social isolation by matching seniors with the most appropriate format (based on a comprehensive, needs assessment) for connection with volunteers and community partners.  This model allows for a greater diversity of types of visits, the ability to meet the social connection needs of a greater number of seniors, and for social connection in some of the most difficult client situations.  Services include in-person friendly visits, social call/telephone buddies, technology-based video-visiting, and additional care through referrals to community partners for warm line/mental health services and caregiver support.

 

United Way of Broward County

Fort Lauderdale, Florida | https://www.unitedwaybroward.org/

Founded in 1939, United Way of Broward County (UWBC) is a community-based nonprofit organization. UWBC’s mission is to fight for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in the community. As an accredited agency, UWBC fulfills this mission through research, convening, planning, advocacy, funding, direct services, and technical assistance. 

 

UWBC and its partners, the Area Agency on Aging of Broward County and Broward College, are launching the IUnited for Seniors Project. The Project will engage and match 20 at-risk older adults with 20 health professions college students for volunteer support and non-medical assistance. Volunteer services will encompass emotional support, socialization activities, and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living assistance. The Project goal is to increase reported independent living capacity and decrease self-reported social isolation among enrolled elders while increasing college students elder care knowledge, skills, and career interests. The Project is intended to successfully support elders aging-in-place.

 

Volunteers of America Colorado

Denver, Colorado | www.voacolorado.org/gethelp-northernco

Volunteers of America, Northern Colorado Services provides volunteer respite visits, both in person and remote, to family caregivers caring for older adults at home, providing a weekly reliable break for the caregiver and a friendly, social connection for the older adult. VOA’s Caregiver Support Program goals are to increase caregiver resiliency, improve the care recipient’s social connectedness, and ensure a meaningful experience for volunteers. VOA serves urban, suburban, and rural communities, including very rural, under-served counties.

 

West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine

Lewisburg, West Virginia | https://www.wvsom.edu/

West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine’s Center for Rural and Community Health has partnered with the Greenbrier County Health Alliance and other community organizations to create the Greenbrier Community Care Corps. The Corps will be a cadre of volunteers who assist seniors over 60, adults with disabilities, and their caregivers with errands, chores, and other daily activities. The GCCC will link volunteers with individuals who need assistance and provide training and support as volunteers complete tasks that enable participants to live independently, reduce stress and burdens on caregivers, build community cohesion and social capital, and reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation.