For the volunteers who work with Community Partners in Caring, it's all about the gratitude they receive from their senior clients that keeps them coming back.
"It's really nice to help," said volunteer Monica Brown. "You think you're doing someone a favor but you have no idea until you see the smile, they leave little handwritten notes on a little piece of paper, those things that mean a lot."
Brown delivers groceries and medications and checks in on home-bound seniors in Santa Maria.
Community Partners is Caring is looking for more volunteers like her to serve the Santa Maria Valley, as well as the Lompoc and Santa Barbara areas.
"The idea that we're being cared for, that somebody really cares and they're going maybe one mile or two or more and people like me - old, alone - sometimes we don't get the sense that we're as noticed in this youth-oriented culture," said 84-year-old Judith Chumlea-Cohan. "So it helps a lot for people to know that there are people out there who want to notice us."
"The gratitude is nothing like I've experienced before because these people sincerely needed that help, so it's an awesome feeling to know that I'm actually helping somebody who feels like they have no other alternative," added volunteer Vickie Ponce.
To learn more about how to become a volunteer, call Project Coordinator Kaley Wise at (805) 925-8000 or e-mail volunteer@partnersincaring.org. Donations can also be made on the Community Partners in Caring website.
