How to Find Volunteering Opportunities with Minnesota Seniors

Do you ever wonder how you can make a difference in the life of a senior in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area? With the rising numbers of elderly people today, and a challenged economy, there are many opportunities for helping out seniors in need, providing companionship and more. This post was inspired by the work of our own Kristin Kopp, Founder and President of At Home Solutions, who has been an active volunteer for over 20 years. You can read more about Kristin’s volunteer activities on Our Story page.

What Do Volunteers Do?

Did you know that Americans devoted an estimated 8.1 billion volunteer hours in 2010? Where do all those volunteer hours go? Volunteers today are involved in every aspect of community service from working at non-profit agencies to serving meals, helping with low-cost housing construction, decorating senior living communities with festive décor and much much more. The only limits to what can be done or accomplished through volunteering are the limits of our imagination.

How Do You Find Volunteer Jobs and Get Involved?

Finding volunteer opportunities with seniors in Minnesota or another area of special interest or skill simply involves a little bit of hunting. In this blog post we provide some resources to help you get started finding ways to volunteer with senior care centers, help homebound seniors, or find just the right opportunity based on your skills and interests. No matter what kind of service project or volunteering makes sense for you, you will enjoy making a difference.

1. Deliver meals to seniors.

One of the most fundamental needs you can help to fill is meal delivery. The statistics:

• There are over 5,000 senior nutrition programs in the U.S.
• Over one million meals are delivered to seniors each day.
• According to the Meals on Wheels Association of America, the “volunteer army” that serves these meals at congregational facilities and individual homes is somewhere between 800,000 and 1.7 million people.
• Here in the Twin Cities 400 volunteers are needed daily to delivery meals.

To find a meal delivery opportunity, you can:

·         Start at the Take Action page of the Meals on Wheels Association of America.

·         Start at the Deliver a Meal page of the Twin Cities Metro Meals on Wheels organization.

2. Start with VolunteerMatch.org.

Volunteer Match has a search tool that you can use to find volunteer opportunities by location and interest.  For example, a Volunteer Match search on seniors in Minneapolis, MN turned up the following opportunities:

• Visit with seniors in a memory care home.
• Set tables and serve meals to seniors in a senior living community.
• Help out at a spa day for seniors by providing manicures and massages.
• Visit homebound seniors to provide companionship.
• Provide chore help, such as fall raking.

3. Browse government service and volunteering organizations.

Several U.S. government organizations provide resources and databases for volunteers. Here are a few examples.

• GetInvolved.gov: This government organization provides links to many resources and affiliated programs, including Senior Companions. The Senior Companions program has a focus on helping seniors to continue living independently in their homes. As a volunteer, you can take advantage of a range of resources as well as specialized volunteer training.
• Serve.gov: This nationwide service initiative, spearheaded by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, is designed to provide opportunities for all citizens to help meet the growing social needs resulting from the economic downturn. The site includes a search feature where you can scout for service opportunities and projects by keyword and location.

4. Think of ways for kids and teens to help seniors.

Volunteer roles are very often filled by already busy adults. What about kids? Kids can bring a boatload of energy and fun to senior centers and senior living communities. And the kids and teens can benefit too. Volunteering can help enhance their understanding and compassion toward others, help them to see that elderly people are just as three dimensional and interesting as young folks, and even provide work experience that can be added to a resume. Teens can even find volunteering abroad opportunities to expand their horizons.

Here are a few resources for thinking up ways kids and teens can volunteer with seniors:

• DoSomething.org: DoSomething is an organization with a youth focus that encourages involvement. Kids can find opportunities, join “Do Something Clubs” or start their own club.
• Kidz World.com: The Kidz’ World Working with Seniors page provides excellent inspiration for ways in which kids and teens can make a difference in seniors’ lives.
• Cross Cultural Solutions.org: The Cross Cultural Solutions site is full of ideas and resources on volunteering overseas. Volunteer opportunities to be found on the site include helping people with disabilities, helping women to gain life skills and providing elder care.

5. More ideas for helping others.

The online resources are endless for finding volunteer projects, whether related to senior care or other interests. For example here are some idea pages and volunteerism databases:

• Idealist.org: Idealist is devoted to nurturing the desire to make a difference in the world.  You can search by volunteer opportunities, internships, programs, jobs and more, and refine your search by keywords and location, including many countries worldwide.
• Help Others.org: The Help Others site provides ideas for helping others in many ways, including simple acts of kindness.
• SmartVolunteer.org: The Smart Volunteer database is an excellent starting place for those who want to apply their professionals skills to their volunteer roles.  You can search many categories from accounting to legal to writing and editing, and find opportunities by zip code.

And finally, you can simply use your favorite search engine to find opportunities in your area of interest or expertise in your area. For example you could search “volunteer with seniors in Minneapolis, MN.” No matter how large or small your volunteer role, your efforts can make a difference!