LAKE PLACID — Mercy Care for the Adirondacks is recruiting new volunteers and has scheduled a Friendship Volunteer Training Program in Saranac Lake on Oct. 4 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

New volunteers will join Mercy Care’s more than 100 Friendship Volunteers from Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake and surrounding areas who are helping their elder neighbors stay connected to their communities and helping to make their lives a little easier and happier. Volunteers of all faiths are encouraged and invited to participate.

Mercy Care is experiencing many new requests from elders in this community who need friends and assistance to help them age in place more successfully. Mercy Care serves any older adult in need within its capacity.

There is no cost for the training but registration is required. Complementary lunch will be provided. To register for the training, visit Mercy Care’s website at www.adkmercy.org or contact Lexi Bevilacqua, Mercy Care’s program director, at abevilacqua@adkmercy.org or call Bevilacqua for more information at 518-523-5446.

–

Can you help?

–

Mercy Care receives requests for a Friendship Volunteer from elders themselves, their families, or friends, to help them with informal supports and ease their isolation and loneliness.

Volunteers will learn about offering friendship and assistance to elders in sessions on healthy aging, spirituality and aging, community resources for elders, and COVID-19 precautions and protocols. New Volunteers will hear from experienced Mercy Care Friendship Volunteers who find purposeful service to their elder friends to be meaningful in their own lives. Mercy Care Friendship Volunteers provide informal supports such as assistance with grocery shopping, transportation to medical appointments or social outings, or visiting with an elder in their home.

Mercy Care invites anyone in the Tri-Lakes region, Ausable Forks, Keene or other surrounding communities who is interested in becoming a Mercy Care Friendship Volunteer to take the training in Saranac Lake. Mercy Care is seeking to extend its Friendship Volunteer assistance program in the Ausable Forks, Keene Valley, Keene, Wilmington and Jay communities.

The mission of Mercy Care for the Adirondacks, sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, is to extend mercy to elders living in the community in order to enhance the fullness of their lives and help them age in place more successfully.

Mercy Care for the Adirondacks is governed by a local board of directors and relies solely on grants and charitable gifts from individuals, businesses, and foundations for its support. Mercy Care’s services are provided free of charge. Board members include: Melissa Eisinger, president; Art Devlin, vice president; Ann Cantwell Telfer, Stefanie Holderied, Cathy Johnston, Sr. Eileen McDonnell, RSM, Paul O’Leary, Kathryn Reiss, Shawn Stuart, Kathleen Trainor and Father John Yonkovig.

Mercy Care can be reached at 185 Old Military Road, Lake Placid, NY 12946, by calling Donna Beal, Executive Director, at 518-523-5581, or by email at dbeal@adkmercy.org For more information, visit Mercy Care’s website at www.adkmercy.org.