Volunteers Aid Seniors And Take On Spring Chores On

Independent Living Day

By Andrew Gorosko

Teams of volunteer workers with lawn tools and cleaning cloths in hand last Saturday tackled scores of tasks at about 50 local properties, where they provided the free elbow grease needed to perform a variety of jobs requested by local senior citizens.

Now in its eighth year, Newtown Youth Services sponsors Independent Living Day to provide help to senior citizens with projects requiring physical assistance.

Youth Services Director Roseanne Loring explained that volunteer youths and adults fanned out to properties across town.

The program is designed “to try to help seniors with chores that they might find difficult themselves,” Ms Loring said. The effort is intended to allow the senior citizens to continue to live independently, she noted.

Besides doing work for the seniors, the volunteers’ visits to seniors’ homes are a social experience for the elderly, Ms Loring said. “It may be the only social contact they have. They thoroughly enjoy having the kids come in,” she said.

The recipients of volunteer services were very appreciative, she said. Typical visits to seniors’ homes last between 30 and 60 minutes, she said.

Ms Loring estimated that about 70 volunteers participated in the event. Their ages ranged from 2 to 67, she said.

Nunnawauk Meadows was a focus of volunteer activity during Independent Living Day, where about 30 residents received the benefit of volunteer help, she said. Nunnawauk Meadows on Nunnawauk Road is a rent-subsidized housing complex for the elderly.

At the project’s inception, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) sponsored Independent Living Day, after which Newtown Youth Services assumed the sponsorship.

Typical tasks tackled by volunteers at the event include raking out flower beds, doing plantings, washing windows and installing screen windows, Ms Loring said. Other work involves painting, organizing closets, various yard work, plus running errands.

The most complex job performed by the volunteers last Saturday involved a cleanup project in a basement that accumulated water during the heavy rains that occurred on April 15–16, she said.