Seniors Centre for Excellence to launch Good Neighbour Project

MAPLETON – Carrying a blue box out to the curb or picking up food from the grocery store can be challenging tasks for some seniors. 

That’s why the Seniors Centre for Excellence (SCE) is launching the Good Neighbour Project to connect seniors in need with community members looking to lend a helping hand in a wide range of simple ways. 

“We know that Mapleton has a good strong community and good roots,” said SCE representative Helen Edwards. 

“That’s why we want to start here – because we feel like we have a good chance of getting some volunteers.”    

Edwards said Mapleton staff have been enthusiastic about the project from the get-go, and CAO Manny Baron has already offered to sign up to volunteer. 

The cost of the program would be included in the SCE’s operating budget, which includes $10,000 from each of the townships in north Wellington (Mapleton, Minto and Wellington North) and $20,000 from the province of Ontario. 

She said people don’t need to dedicate a significant amount of time to sign up, “but to put out what they are able to do and then the seniors will be matched with a volunteer.” 

After July 1, those interested in volunteering will be able to fill in an application on the township’s website outlining what kind of assistance they want to offer. 

And seniors seeking assistance will fill in a similar form requesting help with specific tasks. 

“We know from our interactions with seniors what a lot of the needs are, but forms allow for specific needs that the senior has identified,” Edwards said. 

“Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness,” she assured – “it’s actually a sign of strength and insight into where you are in your journey.” 

“Older adults in Mapleton bring so much to the community – and you don’t have to look around very far to see where seniors are keeping things going in our community,” Edwards explained.

“If you look at any of the historical societies or church groups or service clubs, many seniors are dedicating their time to keeping this community strong.”

Councillor Amanda Reid asked if the program would be open to volunteers of all ages, and Edwards said yes, but the group would need to put some thought in to how to engage younger people. 

“If they are engaged right from the get-go they group up to be fantastic volunteer and fantastic community members,” Edwards said.

She added there are benefits for both seniors and youths when the two demographics spend time together. 

Councillor Lori Woodham said the Good Neighbour Project is “a really fabulous opportunity and I think you will be surprised how many volunteers you have to assist our seniors.” 

“Even if we had, to start, a half dozen good volunteers we would find that we would be able to help a lot of people with that because a lot of these tasks aren’t major tasks,” Edwards said. 

She noted the SCE intends to share success stories from the program with the hope of inspiring more people to help their senior neighbours, including in more casual manners outside of the program. 

“We want people to kind of open up their eyes and look around and see how they can help the community,” she said.