GIVE - In Home Support Program:

GIVE In Home Support Program, began with a start-up grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and has been a part of Senior Services since 1998. GIVE is one of 20 programs that make up the Faith In Action Network Collaborative of Michigan. Faith In Action is founded on the ideal of “neighbor helping neighbor” and recruits volunteers from different faiths to help individuals who need assistance with daily living activities.

GIVE offers volunteers 18 and older, the opportunity to provide free assistance to seniors and the disabled, to help them remain independent and in their own home.

Services Offered
Visiting
Transportation
Shopping
Telephone Reassurance
Light Housekeeping
Light Meal Preparation
Light Yard Work
 

For more information about GIVE, a member of the Faith In Action Network Collaborative of Michigan, visit us on the web at www.faithinactionmi.org

Want to join?  Call Kathleen Kelleher, GIVE Director at (269) 382-0515 Extension 127 or, email Kathleen at kkelleher@seniorservices1.0rg

A little of your time can make a big difference!

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

FRANK GROSS
Retired Professor Finds Second Career As
Faith In Action Volunteer

What would you do when you find yourself retired after a 30-year career as professor of Religion at WMU? Kick off your shoes and stroll life’s endless beaches? Take out the hammock and idle the years away?

For Frank Gross, this would have been a well-deserved retirement, but Frank chose not to ‘drop out”. Instead, he dropped into Senior Services one day, filled out an application and said, “I’m retired and want to volunteer. Put me to work!”

As it turns out, that was our lucky day. Frank joined GIVE – Faith In Action program and became an In Home Support volunteer, providing basic services for people who want to stay in their own home for as long as possible. He chose to help “Chuck” a Veteran who is legally blind, and had recently lost services due to budget cuts.

That was two years ago and today the match is still going strong. “Frank should be cloned”, says Chuck. “ He takes me places, picks up around the apartment, and mails bills. He does anything I need, I can’t complain a bit,” Luckily it’s a match that clicks for both. “He’s polite and grateful – we get along quite well”, says Frank.

Frank is one of only a few men who volunteer for GIVE’s In Home Support program. Years ago most requests came from women asking for help from other women. Today more and more men are requesting help from men, which makes Frank a tremendous asset; that and his light hearted approach to challenges and his great sense of humor.

When asked what he has learned about volunteering, Frank said, “First I’ve learned a lot about supermarkets.. I’ve learned that discipline is a factor in volunteering and it’s important not to take on too much too soon. I’ve learned that sometimes you have to say ‘no’ and make a referral. I’ve learned that there are a lot of people in the community who just naturally lend a hand.”

“Before, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like not to have a job, but this opportunity has helped me learn how to be retired. Strangely enough, I’ve been busier in retirement than when I was teaching.” Perhaps Chuck says it best, “ I don’t know how I’d get along without Frank!” Neither do we. We are very proud to have such a caring, dependable, kind hearted volunteer in our program!


“The joy that compassion brings is the best kept secret of humanity…a secret that has to be discovered over and over again.” Henri J.M. Nouwen

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