Now, four organizations will spearhead the Care Corps project: the Oasis Institute, which runs the nation’s largest volunteer intergenerational tutoring program; the Caregiver Action Network; the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging; and the Altarum Institute, which works to improve care for vulnerable older adults.
“We want the organizations that apply to be very flexible and creative,” said Anne Montgomery, deputy director of Altarum’s Program to Improve Eldercare. “And we’re aiming to create a volunteer infrastructure that can last and be sustainable.” Care Corps faces several challenges. A big one: The grant is tiny, compared with the trillions of dollars spent on health care. It could take a long time to build it into a national effort that attracts more investment.
Because her organization focuses on building relationships with seniors, it asks volunteers to commit to at least a year. “We get a lot of interest,” Whitford said, “then people realize that this just isn’t going to fit into their schedule.” One of the largest is Seniors Corps, run by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Through its Senior Companion program, volunteers age 55 and older visit needy older adults and help them with tasks such as shopping or paying bills. About 10,500 volunteers spend 15 to 20 hours a week, on average, serving 33,000 seniors through this program.from Senior Corps demonstrates that volunteers receive benefits while giving to others ― a finding confirmed by a large body of research.