“Still wondering what your 2017 New Year’s resolution should be? Want to make a goal that improves your well-being and supports your community too? Consider becoming a volunteer driver with Sound Generations to help local seniors get to their life-sustaining medical appointments. Studies in recent years have shown that volunteering can improve your mood, increase self-esteem, decrease stress, provide meaning and fulfillment, and even help you live a longer, happier life! Volunteering to drive older adults to their medical appointments is a great way to make a tangible and direct impact in someone’s life while providing you with a sense of purpose and fulfillment.
Why is driving so important, you may ask? Surveys show that one of the top concerns of older adults is access to safe and reliable transportation. Without the generous efforts of volunteers, many seniors would have little to no way of getting to their important appointments. Family members live far away or can’t afford to miss work, taxis come with prohibitive costs, and bus service is limited or non-existent. Lack of transportation is a huge barrier to accessing medical care for many older adults. As an 87 year-old survivor of cancer said, “All my life I prided myself on my independence, but when I could no longer drive that all changed. Without volunteers I wouldn’t have made it to all of my radiation appointments.”
Addressing the paramount concern of safe and reliable transportation, Sound Generations Volunteer Transportation program helps countless older adults get to their critically important and life sustaining medical appointments. To meet the ever growing need, more volunteers are desperately needed in communities throughout the region to ensure every senior has access to health care. Whether you have time to drive a senior every day, or just once a month, the program staff will work to accommodate your schedule and preferences.
So set a New Year’s resolution to become a volunteer driver and make a huge difference in your community while improving your own well-being.
To find out more about this meaningful and flexible volunteer opportunity, call 206-748-7588 or visit https://soundgenerations.org/get-help/transportation/volunteer.”
