LAKE PLACID — Mercy Care for the Adirondacks is recruiting new volunteers to help their elder neighbors enjoy happier and fuller lives.
Mercy Care, sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, has scheduled a Friendship Volunteer Training Program on Feb. 4 at The Holy Ghost Parish Center, 40 Marion St., Tupper Lake.
A complementary lunch will be provided. Volunteers of all faiths or of no specific faith community are encouraged and invited to participate.
New volunteers will join Mercy Care’s more than 100 Friendship Volunteers from Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake and surrounding communities who are helping their elder neighbors stay connected to their communities, while helping them to age in place more successfully.
There is no cost for the training, but registration is required. To register, visit Mercy Care’s website at adkmercy.org or contact Mercy Care’s Director of Programs and Mission Integration Lexi Bevilacqua at abevilacqua@adkmercy.org or 518-523-5446.
Volunteers will learn about offering friendship and assistance to elders in sessions on spirituality and aging, how to recognize scams aimed at older adults, and how to help elders stay connected to their communities through social and educational opportunities. Trainees will hear from experienced Mercy Care Friendship Volunteers who find purposeful service to their elder friends to be meaningful in their own lives, according to a press release. Mercy Care Friendship Volunteers provide informal, practical supports, such as assistance with grocery shopping, transportation to medical appointments or social outings, visiting with an elder in their home or carrying out other “errands of mercy.”
CAN YOU HELP?
Mercy Care is experiencing many new requests from elders in the community who need a friend to accompany them on their journey of growing older and striving to live well. Mercy Care serves any older adult in need within its capacity.
Mercy Care receives requests for a Friendship Volunteer from elders themselves, their families or friends to empower them to age in place more successfully for as long as possible. Helping to ease isolation and loneliness, the Mercy Care Friendship Model of assistance to elders fosters friendship between the Mercy Care volunteer and their elder friend.
Mercy Care for the Adirondacks is located at 185 Old Military Road, Lake Placid. For more information, visit Mercy Care’s web site at adkmercy.org