WHO WE ARE

You can volunteer and make a real difference in a homebound individual?s life in so many different ways.

We are a dynamic and diverse group of volunteers or ?Friendly Visitors? who visit homebound individual in their area each week. Every member of our team is willing and eager to share their time with someone who is older, wiser, and has had a lifetime of experience. To date there have been over 250 matches made between our visitors and our participants, and our program has been constantly expanding ever since it began in 2005. Our visitors come from all ages and stages of life, which allows the matching process to be flexible and accommodating to both homebound individual?s and friendly visitor?s preferences.

This could very well be the best hour you’ll spend all week!

High School Students

High School students gain much valuable experience in volunteering and many even wind up adopting a new grandparent. The students love hearing stories about the ?old days? and getting advice from someone who has life experience.

Our high school volunteers often get involved with Friendly Visiting through school programs that encourage them to give back to their community. Not only do they attain essentials in volunteering but they can also use the hours accumulated with the program for college applications or resumes as community service.

Please Contact Us for more information.

College Students

These volunteers are sometimes led to Friendly Visiting through college internships.

For college students who have moved away from home and their loved ones to attend college in the New York City area, weekly visits with a nearby senior can give them a sense of connection to their new community and give them a newfound friend. Many students continue to visit their homebound friend even after they graduate.

Please Contact Us for more information.

Internship Opportunities

Friendly Visiting offers internship opportunities to social work students. Friendly Visiting provides meaningful, direct service to the homebound individuals and is supervised by a licensed field instructor.

Please Contact Us for more information (718) 449-5000 ext. 2212

Young Professionals

Our young professional volunteers have sometimes been led to a new city or state by their jobs and seek friendship with an older person in order to get more involved in their new neighborhoods. They often find that spending time with a homebound individual gives them a new perspective on life and competition of building a career in New York.

This is also a great opportunity to meet new people in your age group who share one thing in common- giving back and helping others.

Please Contact Us for more information.

Families

A child can?t have too many grandparents, right? When Friendly Visiting becomes a family activity, both the friendly visitor and the homebound individual gain the feeling of having an even bigger family. Many homebound individuals involved in the program either do not have family that lives near by or have any family at all.

The homebound individuals enjoy this family experience.

Please Contact Us for more information.

Retirees

Newly retired individuals often find themselves with more free time on their hands and look to do something meaningful while giving back in their community. Many of them find a desire to use some of this time to give back to their communities, including helping their elderly homebound neighbors.

This group of volunteers is exceptionally needed in the program since many of them are available to visit during the day when the homebound feel the most lonely.

Please Contact Us for more information.

Groups

Whether you are looking for a corporate opportunity to do with your staff or a fun activity to do with your school, Friendly Visiting is the right program for you.

Groups as small as 5 or as large as 50 have a blast volunteering at our seasonal birthday parties. Groups are our main attraction at these parties and have assisted in organizing activities such as birthday bingo, Chinese Auctions and manicures for the ladies. The homebound individuals love the intergenerational interaction and the volunteers have the opportunity to interact one on one with a homebound individual.

If you are interested in joining one of our parties or would like to organize a unique event of your own with us, please contact Libby Feldman (718) 449-5000 ext. 2212. Some costs may be required to cover material, food and supplies for the event.

REQUIREMENTS

Volunteers must be 16 years or older and be able to commit to a six-month program* of a minimum of one hour per week. We carefully match volunteers with homebound individuals based on your interests, personality and activity level. Our objective is to help you achieve your goal of helping others and developing everlasting friendships.

* Please note that we ask for such a commitment because we want our homebound individuals to experience some degree of continuity with the friendly visitors. Many homebound individuals have experienced tragic things in their lives and our goal is to make their days a little bit brighter.