Senior Corps Connects Senior Volunteers With People And Organizations In The Community

Through Lutheran Social Service, you don’t have to leave your town to join a service corps. A unique service program is connecting senior volunteers in the Brainerd Lakes Area with the people and organizations that need them the most.

When Carol Barsness retired, she knew she wanted to give back to the community.

“I retired from the school district and I had a lot of time on my hands, and I have also worked in child care for 30 years, so I thought this would be a good fit for me,” said Barsness.

That’s when she decided to sign up to join the Senior Corps. The Senior Corps is a national service program that connects seniors 55 and older with the people and organizations in the community that need them the most.

Lutheran Social Service in Brainerd organizes the Senior Corps that has two avenues: “senior companions” or “foster grandparents.” The senior companions meet once a week and offer friendship, support, and transportation to older adults at home and out in the community.

“It’s about helping others, other people that can’t get out and do what they’d like to do,” said volunteer Patti Durose.

The foster grandparents assist children of various ages in the classroom.

“I think it’s a great program. I really do. For both older people and for the kids. Because some don’t have grandparents who live here and we might be the only ones that do,” said foster grandparent Jan Bender.

“They still have wonder and awe and they like you to listen to them,” Barsness added. “And so that’s what I do, I listen.”

The Senior Corps volunteers say the experience is not only enjoyable, but rewarding, and that they get just as much out of it as the people they work with.

“I learn from them as much as they learn from me. That’s what it’s all about. Foster grandparents give kids a grandma or a grandpa and gives us grandchildren,” said Bender. “So it goes both ways.”

The Senior Corps in Brainerd is always looking for senior volunteers ages 55 and up. For more information, visit www.lssmn.org.