Link to article in The Laker & The Pioneer
Guest Column by Deb Taylor
No man (or woman!) is an island. Have you ever heard this quote? A shorter version of it was first delivered by the seventeenth-century English author John Donne during a sermon. He was right, no one is totally self-sufficient. We all rely on others to thrive and enjoy meaningful lives: our families, our co-workers and friends.
Those of us in the not-for-profit realm exist to help others, and we certainly cannot do it alone. When an older adult or caregiver requires help, they want the best expertise available to resolve their need effectively and efficiently, without hassle.
Senior Community Services has been around for more than sixty years, and we’ve been able to help many, many thousands of seniors thanks to our effective collaborations with partnering organizations.
Today, we partner with 300 other organizations to ensure the timely and effective delivery of care and services to the Minnesota older adults and caregivers we serve.
Think of Senior Community Services as the conductor and our partners as the orchestra. Together, we create a symphony of care. Yes, we have a dedicated and highly experienced staff of social workers and other specialists who really know their stuff. But to help more than 25,000 struggling and vulnerable Minnesota seniors annually, it takes more boots on the ground.
Our staff collaborated with nearly 3,900 dedicated Minnesota volunteers and coordinated with our partnering organizations to provide the services seniors and their caregivers needed to maintain independence and enjoy healthier, more vital lives.
Volunteers are amazing, the lifeblood of so much senior outreach. Think about it for a moment; without volunteers, what would our senior centers, our schools, places of worship and libraries – our communities – look like? What basic needs would go unmet?
What opportunities to serve, grow, learn, and thrive as a society would be lost? The truth is we cross paths with volunteers several times a day, no matter where we are in the world. They step up, give of their time and talents, and it feels good.
Senior Community Services’ compassionate helpers – individuals, church groups, and corporate teams – provided 87,856 hours of services during 2014. And 1,480 senior center friends provided 78,502 hours of service to make life more engaging and fun for thousands of senior center attendees. We’re humbled by this compassion, and we want to say thank-you.
Together, we partner to support positive aging and independence, as we Reimagine Aging for generations of Minnesotans.
Deb Taylor is CEO of Senior Community Services (www.seniorcommunity.org) and its Reimagine Aging Institute, a nonprofit that advocates for older adults and helps seniors and caregivers maintain their independence through free or low-cost services.
