Sharing a laugh with a friendly visitor, receiving a phone call to make sure you're okay or learning how to be a better caregiver— American Red Cross Senior Services provides supportive services to seniors and their families. Respite care gives a short break to caregivers by providing someone to stay with a homebound family member. Caregivers' education trains family members, friends and volunteers to provide care for homebound persons. Friendly visitors stop by each week to share conversation with someone who may not have many visitors. Contact your local chapter to find out if they offer any of these services in your area.

Youth Volunteers Bring LIFE to Their Community

Written by Rita Bowers, RedCross.org

Weed whackers, Jason Branden, Joseph Teranova and Cassy Denton, (l to r) help Mrs. Fertitta keep her yard spic-and-span.

After school, many teenagers are busy playing Nintendo, talking on the phone to their friends or watching television. The idea of doing volunteer work instead of going to the mall may be a foreign — if not bizarre — concept to them.

The American Red Cross Greater Buffalo Chapter encourages youth to volunteer and build relationships in their community with the Lifeline to Independence for the Elderly (LIFE) Project. The LIFE Project is a pilot program launched in January to help seniors live independently longer. Students provide the seniors with services including yard work, snow shoveling and pet care. The program is a collaborative effort of more than 10 community agencies, educational institutions, government agencies and healthcare providers.

The program works on a service learning model, which uses community service to reinforce the standards young people learn in school. The LIFE Project is working with a local high school on developing a curriculum for this program.

"By developing and introducing a LIFE Project curriculum, our young volunteers are also reinforcing standards they learn in school," said Stephanie Malinenko, director of the LIFE Project. "Working in collaboration with other agencies has allowed us to design a program that identifies and fills gaps in services for both seniors and young people. The partnership with our local Board of Cooperative Educational Service (BOCES) has also allowed us to turn what was traditionally community service into service learning."

Putting a service learning touch on the LIFE Project is the job of Kathryn Huber, a service learning specialist at BOCES. Huber wants the students to receive more from the project than school credit or time served. She hopes the experience has a long-term effect on their lives. Huber explains, "One of the goals of the project is to break down stereotypes. Students are intentionally paired with clients of different races."

Students also receive senior citizen sensitivity training before working with the clients. The training gives them an idea of what to expect and how to deal with seniors who have serious medical conditions, such as arthritis. "During the session, a group brings in eyeglasses, ear plugs and winter gloves" said Huber. "The students try to pay utility bills with the pieces on so they have more empathy going into the situation."

Life volunteer Carrie Leising helps with gardening at a senior's home.

Although they receive training, some students are hesitant to go into the elderly person's home. Huber said their feelings change once they come in contact with the seniors. "They enjoy the ability to talk to the seniors about how life was when they were younger and about the clients' families," she said. "It's a win-win opportunity for both groups. The kids feel like they are needed in their community. They are empowered because they want to see a positive change in their neighborhood."

They also want to change the public's opinion of inner city kids. Many teenagers in the program live in a poverty-stricken neighborhood on the West Side of Buffalo. Their efforts in the community are helping to make that change possible. Malinenko said many of the seniors have commented on how the volunteers are friendly and hardworking.

One of the clients is 76-year-old James Barnes, who is blind and hearing-impaired. Barnes lives alone and has no family in Buffalo. Every week LIFE Project volunteers do light housekeeping, sort his mail and talk with him. During a safety check of his home, a student found his smoke detector was not working and notified his case manager.

Barnes is grateful for the companionship and assistance the students provide. "It's useful to me because I am handicapped," he said. "Different groups come to my house and they all do good work. It's lovely."

For more information, visit the Greater Buffalo Chapter's Web site.

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