Wellington Cares
By Anya Millard, 6th Grade, Eagle Arts Academy
Wellington Cares is a non profit organization that helps people 65 and older. They provide seniors food, make them feel safe and take care of them. They can set up doctors appointments, provide transportation within the Wellington area, although they are hoping to expand in Royal Palm, Boynton Beach and more. They also provide hospitality and will call on seniors every day to check up on them. If a patient is weak, volunteers or staff from Wellington Cares can do some errands for them. The patients can also call just for a conversation because it can be very lonely sitting in a house all day.
Wellington Cares does this because most people can’t afford to get available assisted living or memory facilities in the area. Luckily, Wellington Cares is free, but they do take donations if you would like. The people who provide these services are all volunteers. They have 52 volunteers and 58 patients. The patients can call anytime and get to know their assigned volunteer not just as a person who can help them, but also as a friend. They also have a few bilingual volunteers.
Wellington Cares was started by Kathy Foster. It all started when she found a magazine that read, “ What is NORC?” NORC means “Naturally Occurring Retirement Community.” As Diane Gutman said “we are NORC organization.” They have been providing since 2010. They have many sponsors such as: Wellington Regional Great Charity Challenge, FPL and more. Wellington Cares was part in the Great Charity Challenge for equestrians. They have been chosen 3 times to be recipients of the funds.
We talked with Diane Gutman and she provided me and my class with a lot of important and interesting information. If you choose to volunteer you can even work from home. Before they help people they don’t really know, they will do a background check on them. They have a food pantry where people can donate food. Diane told us that if patients have a type that they like, the staff and volunteers from Wellington Cares can usually find it, or at least something close, in the food pantry. Diane told us that one of her patients loves olives. Sadly, she can not afford any. So, when that person needs more food they use some of the money from donations and get some olives for her.
In conclusion I would recommend anyone and everyone volunteer for Wellington Cares, especially if you are worried about someone in your family who is 65 or older. If you are a minor and would like to volunteer, then you have to bring a parent too. They are a very big help to seniors, and who knows? Maybe in a couple of years they will be worldwide and not just in Florida. Do the right thing and help your fellow citizens. Maybe one day you too might need some help.
More information:
Website- WellingtonCaresOrg.com
Phone number- (561) 568.8818
Email- [email protected]