TOWN OF WESTPORT
Council on Aging
75 Reed Road
Westport, Massachusetts 02790-1135
tel.: (508) 636–1026
fax: (508) 636-1034
Press Release--For Immediate Release March 14, 2008
Volunteer Help Needed at Council on Aging
Councils on Aging across the state
are an important asset to their communities and Westport is no exception. There is a growing elderly population in
every town and many senior citizens, due to circumstances beyond their control,
become homebound, socially isolated and increasingly vulnerable to depression
and other medical illnesses. Two of the programs offered by the Westport
Council on Aging address this problem in different ways: the Social Day Program and the Friendly
Visitor Program.
The Social Day Program provides
social, intellectual, physical and psychological support and stimulation in a
group setting with professional staff and volunteers. It is offered at the
Both of the above programs are
particularly helpful and important to seniors and both are dependent upon
volunteers on a regular basis.
Volunteers for both of these programs are oriented and trained in the
functions and services they are expected to provide. Social Day volunteers are expected to provide
a minimum of three hours on whatever day or days they volunteer per week. Friendly Visitor volunteers are expected to
provide one hour of time per week to the senior citizen(s) they visit.
Volunteers are unquestionably the
supplemental labor force that enables Councils on Aging, here in Westport and
elsewhere, to fulfill their mission of serving senior citizens. While they may not always get the credit they
deserve, virtually all volunteers feel they get as much, if not more than they give in their volunteer activities.
If you would like to volunteer in
one of the programs mentioned above, or in other activities and services at the
Council on Aging, please contact Ann Marie Booth at the Westport