Dozens of volunteers in Orange County have been checking on hundreds of seniors to fight isolation and loneliness during the pandemic.
Volunteer Mark Pennington says he regularly calls to check on a 94-year-old Peggy Coke as part of Saint Jude Medical Centerโs โCheer a Seniorโ program.
โPeggy sometimes feels like sheโs locked down in her own house. We have to talk more on the phone,โ he said โThereโs a lot of seniors that just donโt have anyone close by.โ
Coke said she is so appreciative to have people who care.
โThey help me with my laundry. With cleaning the house. Going to the grocery story. Keeping me company, so that Iโm not lonely,โ She said. โI couldnโt get along without it. They are so helpful.โ
The Cheer a Senior Program started with 20 volunteers and about 80 seniors when the pandemic began, said St. Jude Medical Centerโs Clinical Supervisor of Senior Services Carole Dupรฉe.
But has rapidly grown to more than 80 volunteers and more than 400 seniors.
โThe Cheer a Senior program involves calling older adults every week, checking in with them and making conversation so they donโt feel so lonely and out-of-sync with everything else,โ Dupรฉe said.
But itโs also about getting groceries or medication picked up.
โVery often we pay for those things,โ she said. โBut sometimes thatโs hard for them to do.โ
People can volunteer for the Cheer a Senior Program at Saint Jude Medical Centerโs Senior Services.