Thanks a Latte!

This morning, Senior Citizens, Inc. honored our wonderful volunteers for a coffee/pastry hour!   We cannot say thank you enough, Senior Angels, for all that you do to support our organization and the seniors in your community. 

Everything you do, big and small, makes a difference.  In the past year, you all have donated 18,100 hours of your valuable time to help our organization.  In just one year alone, you have touched the lives of over 1200 seniors.  According to the national organization, “Volunteering In America” a volunteer’s hour is worth on average $21.36/hr.  So you all have donated $386,595 to seniors in your community, just in the past year!  That’s something to be very proud of.  Thank you for making a difference!

In addition, we'd like to thank Bull Street Baptist Church for allowing us to use their community space; Valarie Champion and her daughter Brianna for thoughtfully decorating the space down to the last detail; Richard Chambless and Host South for graciously allowing us to use their beautiful catering equipment; Panera Bread and Atlanta Bread company for donating their pastries; and Papillote, the Sentient Bean, Lady & Sons, the Macoroni Grill, Sticky Fingers, and Gigi's Cupcakes for generously donating raffle prizes for the event.

For the Senior Angels who made it out, we hope that you had a wonderful time!  And for the rest of our Senior Angels, we hope to see you next time!  Thank you so much for all that you do :)

Soldiers Helping Seniors

On Saturday, June 11th, Senior Citizens, Inc. was joined by thirteen soldiers from the 117th Air Control Squadron.  The Soldiers helped clean and sanitize an army of chairs at the Ruth Byck Adult Day Care Center, a project that is extremely difficult to complete during regular office hours.  They also put together fifty-five brown bags full of canned goods and non perishable items.  The group then delivered the bags along with emergency meals to Meals on Wheels clients, and also took the time to chat with seniors.

Thanks again to the soldiers for volunteering their Saturday morning to make a difference!  The chairs look amazing and now fifty-five seniors have extra food in their pantries just in time for hurricane season.

 

A Visit from the Easter Bunny!

Meals on Wheels clients received a pleasant surprise last week: Easter Baskets and adorable Easter Washcloth Bunnies! 

 

Thanks so much to Cissy Brannon and group of children and parents from St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on Skidaway Island for generously donating 88 Easter baskets to our Meals on Wheels clients!  The baskets contained cards, candy, toiletries, and useful gifts for seniors, all which were donated by parishioners. 

 

And a big thank you to Teresa Wilson and her sister, Pamela Hollingsworth, for putting together 177 washcloth Easter Bunnies!  Meals on Wheels clients and seniors at the Ruth Byck Adult Day Center were delighted to receive them!

If you are interested in spreading some extra cheer during the holiday season or would like to create a care package that can go to a homebound senior, please contact Lcruickshank@seniorcitizens-inc.org for more information. 

 

  

Volunteering at the Ruth Byck Adult Day Center

I volunteer at the Ruth Byck Adult Day Care Center.  I call bingo for the senior citizens after they had had their lunch.  The seniors enjoy the nice, relaxing game.  We play several different games of bingo such as: four corners, small frame and the letter T.  The room is very quiet as the numbers are being called and when I'm getting close to someone's number they will say "shake em up" whcih means shake up the bingo balls so that I might call out their numbers.  If I have all their numbers, they win a prize.

The game is so fun and exciting and there is never a dull moment.  Everyone helps eachother with their boards and we help them mark their numbers if they need help.  Usually everyone gets a chance to win.  I like to see the seniors win because their faces just light up and glow and they love to play the game. 

I enjoy volunteering because it gives me a chance to give back to the community in my spare time.  Volunteering is a great way to spend your time.  The fun, the laughter, the excitement, the joy, the hugs and the smiles that you get are priceless.  The senior citizens are loving and caring individuals.  I love the time that I spend with them.  I feel welcomed every time I arrive and when I leave, I look forward to coming back.  So get on out and spread some cheer,  do your part and volunteer :)

-Shakia Green

Neighbor Helping Neighbor

Always I have volunteered at something.  In New Jersey, I volunteered for my local first aid squad, doing all kinds of things in the school with my boys, Cub and Boy Scouts, a Mothers of Twins Club, and a crisis/suicide hot line.  When I came to Savannah in September, the first order of business was finding a job.  Well, that didn't happen as quickly as the original plan (life does that sometimes).  While I was waiting for a job to happen, I didn't want to waste my days, and I found the Senior Citizens.

 

I volunteered for Meals on Wheels and Sterling Rides.  I did have a selfish motive:  to find my way around Savannah.  As I used my gps and the wealth of knowledge of my clients, I got off the main roads and finally gained  an understanding of the streets in this beautiful city.

 

Each of us do not live in a bubble, we are dependent on each other in large and small ways.  I felt privileged to be a small part of seeing that someone had a meal for the day or that they were able to get medical attention. It is wonderful to have friends and family around, but that isn't always enough.  What a blessing to be able to help others, what a joy to meet delightful people who have lived full and interesting lives.

 

-Denise Banghart

Volunteering with Meals on Wheels

In 1999,15 months after I retired from my pediatric practice and after 2 knee replacements, I volunteered as a Meals on Wheels deliverer. My route was the "eastside" which included Pennsylvania Ave. and neighborhoods east and west of Pennsylvania. I must say the next 10 years of this volunteer work were some of the most rewarding of my life, and I had had many, many rewarding experiences in my 44 yrs. of practicing pediatrics. I made so many dear friends with the clients to whom I delivered and with the wonderful people who work in the MOA kitchen. Losing many of my clients was a cause of grieving, but the satisfaction that I had contributed to their needs helped ease my sense of loss. It is very difficult to express the sorrow I felt when serious back problems caused me to resign from my volunteership in May of 2009.

-Patrick Evans, M.D.

Welcome Senior Angels

Hello Senior Angels!  This blog is created as a forum for all of you wonderful volunteers at Senior Citizens, Inc. to share your experiences and stay connected.  Please feel free to follow our site or just check back as often as you'd like.

We hope that your stories will inspire future volunteers to join our team!  If you'd like to submit a post, feel free to email Lauren Cruickshank at LCruickshank@seniorcitizens-inc.org with your entry or any questions you may have.