Growing older—together

By THOMAS CAMBRIDGE
Posted 8/17/22

I have always appreciated my relationships with older people. Just after my first birthday, I was loaded into my parent’s 1959 Chevrolet Impala and transported 700 miles south of our Iowa …

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Growing older—together

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I have always appreciated my relationships with older people. Just after my first birthday, I was loaded into my parent’s 1959 Chevrolet Impala and transported 700 miles south of our Iowa homestead to Amarillo, TX.

We left behind all four of my grandparents when Texas became our new home. For the whole of my childhood, we would reverse that trip each summer.

As our time together would be relatively short until the next reunion, it was very special. My grandparents were from hardened Iowa farm stock. All of them had lived through the Great Depression and two world wars. They taught me to respect and value the experiences of the generations above us. In my grandparents and their contemporaries, I found great character, rich stories and wisdom.

Long after their passing, my affinity for senior community members has remained ardent. This past April, I was thrilled to hear of an opportunity to work with the nonprofit organization Growing Older Together. With my combined background in finance and performing arts, it seemed a great fit—raising money and piloting roadshows to promote their mission. On May 1, I became the new executive director.

Growing Older Together is a tremendous organization, with a simple, yet powerful mission. Utilizing a 100-percent volunteer brigade, it offers support to seniors 60 years and older, in Sullivan, Wayne and Pike counties. This enables older people to remain independent and age in place in the home of their choice.

What became Growing Older Together started in 2015, when a founding member became incapacitated while caring for her husband. Church and community members rallied to fill the gap. When the crises abated, the helpers suspected there were others in the area that required assistance, and they were not wrong. In 2017, the organization began operations, and membership has grown steadily since then.

Autonomy and independence enhance the quality of life. Growing Older Together provides both practical means and social connections for senior members of our community to achieve those aims. This is done in a variety of ways, including driving a member to the doctor or picking up groceries from the market. In the home, routine tasks are carried out, from bagging garbage to changing an overhead light bulb. Ever try to connect a printer to a wifi network? Technology provides its own set of challenges, which our volunteers are trained to meet.

And then there is companionship, pure and simple. An afternoon cup of tea and some conversation is often all it takes to boost the quality of a person’s day.

The work of Growing Older Together is important. And we need volunteers. If you, or someone you know, might be looking for a volunteer opportunity—or perhaps you know a senior person who could benefit from our services—call us or visit our website. We’d love to talk with you. Call us at 570/630-0509; or visit us at www.growingoldertogether.com.

Thomas Cambridge is the executive director of Growing Older Together.

Growing Older Together, aging, seniors, volunteer

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