TYPES OF VOLUNTEERING


Friendly Visiting

The role of the friendly visitor is to visit a senior who is usually physically or socially isolated. The senior may want someone to talk to, or perhaps with whom to go for walks.

The volunteer is asked to spend at least 2 hours per week with the senior. In some cases, friendly visiting also involves going grocery shopping and escorting the senior to various appointments.

Visitors should note that it may take a few visits with the client before it clicks. Please keep in mind that patience, understanding, optimism and creativity are essential for establishing a mutual fulfilling friendship with a senior. However, if after a few visits things are not going well and you feel uncomfortable with the senior, please give the coordinator a call and she/he will either match you with another senior or rectify the problem in some other way.

Volunteers should expect to commit a minimum of four months with the Yellow Door.

Accompaniments

The accompaniment service uses volunteers on an on-call basis to escort seniors with various physical and/or mental disabilities to their personal and medical appointments.

The volunteer accompanies the senior by bus / taxi / car to the destination and stays with the person, and then accompanies the senior back to her/his home.

Some seniors may be anxious or even apprehensive about going to their appointments; hence, the volunteer is there not only as an escort but also to  support the senior.

Volunteers are expected to give their availability to the coordinator and to give at least one free day or a couple of hours per week for accompaniments.  

Friendly Favours

The friendly favour service uses volunteers to run errands for our homebound seniors, errands such as grocery shopping, going to the pharmacy, banking, etc. The volunteer first goes to the senior’s home to get a list of food items to buy and to clarify monetary arrangements. The same procedure is followed for banking and going to the pharmacy.

General and Fundraising work

For those more comfortable with other aspects of volunteering or whose time commitments preclude the activities described above, we have a host of other needs in and around the office and during our fundraising campaigns.  Those with special skills in marketing, computer programming, accounting or just a flair for organization are especially welcome. In fact the maintenance of this web site is one of many things that we need assistance with. No matter who you are, or what your skills are the Yellow Door has a place for you. Why not join us?

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