Hugh Carey / hcarey@summitdaily.com
Summit County Senior Citizens Inc., in partnership with the Alpine Area on Aging, is sponsoring a new Senior Volunteer Companion program.
The program is looking for seniors in need of companionship two to four hours a week. Trained volunteers will be matched with a senior wanting a companion. Summit County Senior Citizens and AAA will be responsible for training and supervising the volunteers. There will be an extensive process for interviewing the family and volunteers.
The companions are not certified nurse assistants or nurses. They will be volunteers helping seniors socialize and be active by reading to them, going for walks, playing games and more. These are volunteer friends giving the usual caregiver a break or offering companionship to someone living alone.
Volunteers can sign up for the first training from 1–5 p.m., June 27, at the Summit County Community & Senior Center, 83 Nancy’s Place in Frisco. There is no cost to attend, but volunteers are expected to sign up for one or two two-hour shifts a week for six months of the year. Vacations are expected, and part-time residents are welcomed both as volunteers and recipients. Paid caregivers are invited to join the training, if space is available, but must pay $45 for materials. Materials are furnished for other volunteers.
There will be an informational meeting about the program from 9–10 a.m. Monday at the Senior Center. Volunteers must be 18 or older. Care recipients must be older than 60. For more information and to register, call Erin Fisher at Alpine Area on Aging at 970-468-0295, extension 117.