Volunteers Make a Difference at Elderhaus

Elderhaus Volunteers can do a number of good things – offer a helping hand, a caring heart, a listening ear, a spirited energy, and a smiling face.

At Elderhaus, a senior and adult day care center in Wilmington, volunteers play an integral role in caring for those in the community while advancing the mission of the day care center. Elderhaus aims to help seniors live as safely and as long as possible in the community while providing them the best quality of life.

Participants experience this extra quality of care especially through the dedicated volunteers, ranging in age from college students to seniors, who enrich the spiritual, personal, physical, and emotional lives of each person they serve in the day center. With their help, participants can engage in a variety of activities at Elderhaus.

Local pastors offer religious activities at the PACE center and Elderhaus at the Lake, including weekly bible studies, music, and communion services. Once a month you’ll find participants having fun cutting a rug while working on their balance and coordination thanks to a DJ who hosts a dance party at the PACE center. She puts the mission of Elderhaus into perspective when she says, “Elderhaus will not necessarily add years to your life but life to your years.”

Students from UNCW and Cape Fear Community College also volunteer in capacities relating to their studies, including nursing, social work, gerontology, and recreational therapy. Because of these volunteers and the numerous in-house doctors and medical professionals at Elderhaus, participants benefit from care that is personal and comprehensive.

While all of the volunteers have a heart for seniors, some also have a more personal connection with those they serve. With loved ones who have been affected by Alzheimer’s or who are participants in Elderhaus, they understand the hardship of caring for loved ones and feel the need to give back to others who want the best for their family members.

Participants interact with volunteers on a variety of levels, but often it’s simple gestures like playing board games or talking about fond memories that make the most difference in their lives.

At Elderhaus, there is no doubt that participants receive the best care possible.

But it is only possible with the dedicated help of volunteers who are passionate about serving others.

To volunteer with the PACE program, contact Activity and Volunteer Coordinator Yami Greene at 910-343-8209 x.156 or yami.greene@elderhaus.com.

To volunteer at Elderhaus at the Lake, contact Program Director Roberta Fox at 910-251-0660 or roberta.fox@elderhaus.com.

Learn more about Elderhaus.

Learn about the Executive Director of Elderhaus.

Author: Olivia Bardella