by Maureen Forsythe, BCA Youth Director.
In early 2022 the BCA invited Blackburn Hamlet seniors to participate in a new program that aimed to recruit youth volunteers to help them with garden and yard work, especially during spring and fall. A total of 20 local seniors signed up for the Young Helping Hands for Seniors program and six Blackburn youth volunteered to participate in the program.
The program was officially launched on May 21st , with two local volunteers, Owen and Thomas Gottfried, assisting Norman and Marie Swarts with a variety of yard and garden tasks. According to Norman Swarts “they did a lot in a short period of time”. Owen and Thomas went on to assist six different senior households from May through mid-October, including that of Marion Hall who appreciated that the brothers completed her list of tasks “much more quickly” than she expected.
A total of eleven volunteer visits were carried out by the six volunteer youth (and one parent) in 2022. One of the seniors, Shirley Shea, especially appreciated the visit by Hoda Rowhani and her daughter Nura, who happen to be her neighbours! Special thanks to Owen and Thomas Gottfried, Cameron and Liam MacDonald and Nura Rowhani and Chloe Smith for volunteering with this new program and helping to make it a success!
Youth aged 12-17 who might be interested in volunteering with this program next spring (mid-May through end of June 2023) are invited to send an email to youth@blackburnhamlet.ca