Community Update (10/15/24)

Wellness

Vaccines and Covid-19 test

Please be alert to the need to get your vaccines; talk with your doctor or pharmacist if you have questions.

Free COVID – 19 Testing Kits: Once again the Federal Government is shipping four free COVID-19 tests to households.  Please click on link and order yours now: https://special.usps.com/testkits

Pelvic Fitness Workshop

This VHC Workshop will include education, as well as functional exercises to train the pelvic floor for strength, endurance, coordination and relaxation. Led by a VHC Health physical therapist specializing in pelvic floor. For all ages/genders:

• Tuesdays, 6:00-7:00 PM at VHC Health, Zone C, Classroom 1
• 2-week workshop meets 11/12 & 11/19

To register please visit: www.vhchealth.org/healthy or call the Health Promotion Department at 703-558-6740.

Volunteering; What’s in it for Me?   By Joan Smith                                                       

For six years I volunteered with ANV by conducting Intake Interviews with new members. Many new applicants were quite surprised when I ended the discussion by asking if they had thought of also volunteering. “Me?” they would say “but, I need services. How could I possibly offer anything to volunteer?”

Ah. To volunteer with ANV can mean many things, including very active tasks such as driving, delivery, home chores, yard work, etc. But many requests do not involve active driving, chores, deliveries and such. We have volunteers who share regular, weekly phone calls with members. We have volunteers who serve on committees and plan and help at our social events. Some people want/need to wait awhile, until they feel “steady on their feet” before volunteering, and that is fine. But planting the seed for them to contemplate “what could I offer” can reap many benefits. Some of our regular activities started because a volunteer had the idea or experience to start a new group, with ANV support and help of course.

When one googles “benefits of volunteering,” one finds endless lists and research studies to back up the benefit claims. I will mention a few here.

Western Connecticut State University compiled research data on volunteering and found that “volunteering can provide a healthy boost to your self-confidence, self-esteem, and life satisfaction.”  Doing good for others and for your community provides a “natural sense of accomplishment.”  College students also say they learn a lot, and gain professional experience they can use in jobs and careers.

But, what about older people volunteering? Well, they enjoy these same rewards, but in addition, reap the benefits of bringing people together and making new friends. Social engagement may provide the answer for the sense of isolation and natural loss of peers and family that we seniors often experience.

The above study also looked at senior volunteers, and found that we benefit even more.  Apparently, those of us who volunteer have a lower mortality rate. Senior volunteering activates the “reward center” of the brain, releasing serotonin, dopamine and endorphins, which make us “feel good.”  We feel useful, needed, and happy!

A review by the Journal of Health Psychology on the Longitudinal Study on Aging compiled data on over 7,000 adults over 70, and found that people who volunteered frequently tended to live longer. Good Housekeeping found that volunteers suffered less depression, anxiety and had higher life satisfaction, greater happiness and a greater sense of meaning in life. And the American Heart Association found that volunteers had a 22% reduction in the chances of dying within the next seven years!

The Wellspring Family Services data echoed these advantages, and found that volunteering helps define us as being passionate, having a positive attitude, being motivated by things other than money, and that we are willing to help others.

And, let’s not forget why ANV volunteers are needed: we are neighbors helping neighbors age in place. The gratitude expressed by recipients of our work is so rewarding, and often new friendships are formed between member and volunteer. We work as a community, supporting each other and teaching each other. I have learned much from those I assisted, and benefit still from the two-way interaction. Helping someone stay in their own home as they age, surrounded by the neighbors and friends established over many years, is itself a grand reward!

Whew! So, I suggest that if you want any proof of these findings, just ask any of our 340+ active volunteers at ANV why they volunteer, what they get out of it, and how things have changed for them since they began volunteering. By the way, about 60 of our volunteers are also ANV members!

For help in identifying how you may best volunteer, just contact Cindy Salavantis, our ANV Volunteer Coordinator, at cindysalavantis@ANVarlington.org or call the ANV Office at 703-509-8057 to be put in touch with Cindy by phone. For information on volunteering with one of Arlington’s other great organizations, go to Volunteer Arlington and search by organization or cause.

Happy Volunteering!