Happy New Year! I hope you’re reading this in good health.
While the pandemic continues to try to keep us down, I’m determined, along with a team of like-minded friends, to do what I can to lift people up.
Many of us continue to stay home more than we’d like, doing things via our computers and phones that we never imagined we’d do while sitting in a chair. We had our Christmas celebrations via FaceTime instead of in person.
We made the best of it and laughed a lot in spite of what’s going on around us. Now the holidays are behind us. As we return to our now-irregular lives, others around us are struggling with returning to their very quiet, lonely lives.
For almost two years, we have been making friendly calls to isolated or lonely seniors every week. In the last year, 52 Friendly Caller volunteers phoned 224 seniors, making more than 10,000 calls.
Our volunteers come from all walks of life. Many are college students, some are professionals, some unemployed and some newly retired. They all have different reasons for volunteering in this way, but have things in common, too.
Some of the college students volunteered as part of their education requirements. Most soon realized how amazing their connections became with their call recipients. That intergenerational connection makes both generations smile. There’s lots of laughter, and occasionally some tears.
Some of the comments shared included, “I don’t feel lonely anymore,” and “It’s not just a phone call, it a friendship.”
One of our volunteers who is now working from home makes several friendly calls a week. One of his call recipients tell us, “He’s one of the few friends I have; thank you for those calls. Talking to him is the highlight of my day.”
A few seniors who are reaching out to others talk about how the time spent making calls benefits the caller and the recipient. One said, “We mostly share life’s experiences, and it’s interesting to see how much we have in common!” Another said they laugh together during every conversation. How uplifting!
Some call recipients aren’t very chatty but are grateful for the weekly check-ins. Others may talk for a minute or two before saying, “Thanks for calling, I’ll talk to you next week,” and then hanging up quickly.
Others say, “I look forward to talking to someone on the phone rather than just hearing the noise on the TV.”
The referrals for people wanting a friendly caller continue to come in almost daily. We are struggling to keep up, as volunteers’ lives change, too.
If you think you might enjoy volunteering in this way, reach out to us. It’s a minimal time commitment, and you can do it from the comfort of your home.
We take great care in matching volunteers with call recipients who have common interests. We also will reassign a volunteer if the match just doesn’t feel right to either party.
We provide training to volunteers, and check in with them regularly. We want this to be as rewarding for the volunteers as it is for the call recipients.
Please consider this volunteering opportunity. You are needed. And please reach out if you know an isolated, lonely senior who could use a friendly call now and then. We will make sure that happens.
You can call us at 800-654-2810. We look forward to hearing from you.