Have fun this summer crafting, puzzling, and playing cards with older adults!

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Brief Organizational Description:

Richmond Aging and Engaging provides intergenerational art, leisure, and recreation programing in low-income senior apartment buildings.

Volunteer Position Description and Purpose:

We are currently seeking summer volunteers for our Northside site. At this site we typically have 5-7 older adult participants. The group meets weekly on Mondays for coffee, conversation, and to engage in a rotating schedule of fun activities: craft day, puzzle day, game day, and wild-card day (special activities, guests, etc). Our volunteers engage with the older adult participants and help facilitate the activities.

All programming is in a group setting in the building’s community room.

Volunteer Duties & Responsibilities:

The purpose of our programming is to build community, increase social connection, and keep folks’ minds and bodies active. Our volunteers are an essential part of the programs! As a volunteer you will:

• Converse with and get to know the older adult participants - this is the biggest and most important thing our volunteers do!
• Assist older adults in completing activities (for instance, a volunteer may hold the participant’s hand of cards during a card game if they have difficulty due to arthritis or may guide through each step of a craft project).
• Engage in board games and cards with the participants.
• Help with set-up and clean-up of activities
• Be on time!

Qualifications, Skills, & Requirements:

• Volunteers must be comfortable initiating conversations and socializing with others. You don’t have to be exceptionally bubbly and outgoing, but you do have to be able to interact with others without prompting and direction
• Interest in crafting, puzzles, and/or card games is helpful.
• Adaptability and ability to go with the flow is essential.
• Open and nonjudgemental attitude
• As an intergenerational program, we’re looking in particular for young adult volunteers; however, even if you don’t identify as "young adult" but are interested in what we do, get in touch, we can still get you involved!

Time Commitment:

• Our summer volunteer session runs through mid-August (though our programming runs year-round so there is opportunity for continued engagement, if desired).
• The Northside coffee, crafts, cards, and conversation group meets every Monday from 10:45am - 12:30pm
• We’re seeking volunteers who can commit to a minimum attendance of every other week (bonus if you can attend every week). Relationship building is the foundation of our programming, and relationships require consistency and time to form.
• Sorry, we cannot accommodate one-time volunteering.

Other Information:

• Potential volunteers will be interviewed (via zoom).
• On-line volunteer orientation (~30 minutes) is required before coming to site.
• Volunteers must have their own transportation to the site (or willingness/ability to use public transportation).
• Volunteers will socialize and engage with older adult participants and will assist participants in craft projects when needed...but we do not typically provide craft supplies for our volunteers to complete their own projects