Reporters Rachel Ohm and Joe Charpentier introduced readers to only one AmeriCorps service earlier this month. It’s important to remember that AmeriCorps funding also includes the Senior Corps. Over 100 seniors volunteer in the Senior Corps in York and Cumberland counties, serving in two capacities: as foster grandparents or senior companions. Foster grandparents volunteer at local schools while senior companions volunteer in the community.

Has any reader heard their child or grandchild talk about Grandma “Mary” at their school, who volunteers as a special helper? Foster grandparents provide one-on-one time with children who need extra help learning letters, numbers, reading or math while the teacher is teaching the classroom lesson.

A senior companion’s role is to help another senior continue to live in their home or apartment, delaying the need to move to assisted living. The companion helps with grocery shopping, transportation, getting out for an ice cream cone or playing Scrabble — helping to reduce loneliness and isolation. In return, Senior Corps volunteers receive a stipend of $4 per hour, which is actually very helpful for low-income senior volunteers.

Let’s compare the savings: Senior Corps members volunteer 500 hours, at $4 per hour, at a cost of just $2,000, whereas regular workforce employees, earning minimum wage/$12 per hour, are paid $6,000.

Eliminating the funding for the Senior Corps only serves to eliminate affordable, vital help for our children and seniors. It does nothing toward eliminating “fraud, waste and abuse” in our society. It would be a great loss for all: children, seniors, volunteers and our communities.

Dianne Cote
Scarborough