Neighbors volunteering their time to help one another in Altamont eventually expanded to an effort spanning Albany County, with 230 volunteers serving around 500 people.
Community Caregivers is celebrating its 20th anniversary by holding a raffle for a one-of-a-kind gold pendant featuring the nonprofit’s logo of clasped hands forming a heart, which hangs from an 18-inch gold chain. Local jeweler Cindy Crounse, owner of Refined Designs in Voorheesville, designed and donated the dime-sized pendant.
The drawing for the pendant will be held during the organization’s “Neighbors Helping Neighbors Day” appreciation reception Friday afternoon, Sept. 26, at Crossgates. All proceeds from the raffle benefit Community Caregivers.
Kathy Burbank, executive director of Community Caregivers, said volunteers perform a wide variety of services for clients. Any non-medical service is offered, and transportation to doctor appointments is the most common need.
Three Altamont residents — Joel Edwards, Vic Ross and Mary Therriault — founded the organization, originally known as Altamont Community Caregivers, implementing the “parish nurse” concept of care. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded the nonprofit a grant the year it was formerly founded, which kickstarted the initiative.
Through additional grants and community donations, the group expanded its pool of volunteers and began serving outside of the village, and over time stretched into the Hilltowns and suburbs in Albany County. Two years ago, it started serving the City of Albany on a limited basis.
Burbank said the longevity of the organization speaks positively about the county.
“I think it shows people care about neighbors in their community,” said Burbank. “Research shows 65 percent of people or more volunteer, so we are an organization that provides a lot of opportunities and staff that can work it out for people on their schedules. That is what’s unique about us.”
The expanded organization has three full-time and three part-time paid staff members to help manage volunteer coordination and efforts.
“The more clients and volunteers we have, the more we need staff,” said Burbank. “It has grown and is still growing.”
Burbank said the group is always seeking volunteers for the Hilltowns because there are many homebound seniors seeking assistance.
“There are no services or anything out there, so there is a lot of need,” she said.
She said the group tries to have “neighbors helping neighbors,” so people within a community are helping each other. This is also what has made breaking into Albany difficult, because there are not many volunteers from the city.
“We serve whomever in the community that needs us,” she said.
Some clients have been served for more than a decade, while others are on a more short-term basis. The is no age restriction on clients or volunteers, but anyone younger than 18 years old must be accompanied by a parent of guardian.
Most services take between one to two hours, and the maximum per assignment is three hours. Services taking longer than three hours can be shared between volunteers. There is no requirement for how much time must be spent volunteering, and volunteers can state when they are typically available.
Raffle tickets are $10 each, or three tickets for $25, and can be purchased at Community Caregiver’s office located at 2021 Western Ave., Suite 104, in the hamlet of Westmere in Guilderland. Checks can also be mailed, with “raffle” in the memo line, and ticket stubs will be sent in return.
For information about Community Caregivers and events, visit www.communitycaregivers.org. Anyone interested in volunteering for Neighbors Helping Neighbors Day can call the office at 456-2898.
