GIVE - In Home Support Program:

The GIVE In Home Support program got its start in 1998 with a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to provide assistance to seniors who wished to stay in their own home.

Mission:  “To engage volunteers age 18 and older in service to seniors and people with disabilities to help them remain independent and in their own home for as long as possible. ‘  

Volunteers:  Individuals are not assigned, but choose what they would like to do and how much time they have to give to the program.

Opportunities:  include but are not limited to the following:

Visiting: coffee and conversation, watching a movie together, talking a walk, assisting people with low vision, sorting, and organizing mail and other paperwork

Transportation: doctor’s appointments, errands, seasonal drives

Shopping: groceries, clothes, holiday gifts, thrift shops, the Mall

Telephone reassurance:  morning check in call, afternoon chat, anytime ‘visiting’ over the phone for those who are homebound

Light Housekeeping:  vacuum, straightening up

Yard Work: Spring and fall cleanup

2013 marks GIVE’s 15^th anniversary serving people in Kalamazoo County. Not only are services rendered, but friendships are formed, some which last for years. Volunteers have come up with some very creative ways to serve. There’s the mother who brings her children with her to visit a ‘grandma’ in town.  While the volunteer runs the vacuum, grandma reads stories to her children. “It’s nice they can spend time with someone like ‘Mary’ as their own grandparents live out of town.  They love to read and be read to and the cookies are an added bonus! It gives us all something to look forward to!”  

Want to Join? Call or email Kathy Cox at 382-0515 Ext. 127

Lend a Hand * Socialize * Make a friend * Have some FUN.

Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd. Rumi

Volunteer Spotlight
Art Nichols Receives Senior Service's
Lifetime Achievement Award

Outstanding volunteers were recently recognized at Senior Services of Southwest Michigan’s Annual Meeting, May 24^th, 2012. Art Nichols received the Helen Coover Lifetime Achievement award for his exemplary commitment to volunteerism and to Senior Services.

Art volunteers for RSVP- Your Invitation to Volunteer as a Medicare and Medicaid Counselor, and provides basic in home services to frail homebound seniors through GIVE, Growing In Home Volunteer Effort.  A member of Senior Services for 21 years, Art is a financial expert, referral specialist and senior advocate who helps seniors navigate the complexities of the Medicare and Medicaid Assistance Program (MMAP), keeping them up to date with the ever changing requirements. “We don’t charge anything, we don’t sell anything, I just love that.” he says. As an In Home Support volunteer, Art has provided transportation, shopping assistance, bill paying assistance and counseling to seniors in their homes. A gourmet cook, Art has also prepared meals for seniors who live alone and look forward to not only his companionship, but his excellent recipes as well.

Congratulations to Art for his dedication to people in need and the time and talent he donates to Senior Services of Southwest Michigan.

Review the latest GIVE Impact Summary

Click HERE to review the latest Summary

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