Day of Service Project Helps Seniors Age In Place
NIWOT, Colo. (CBS4) - Carol Calahan lives on nearly an acre of land in Niwot. It's a lot to take care of for the 76-year-old, especially as she cares for her husband who has Parkinson's disease. She has family who helps her out, but they're not always around.
"These people are great," Calahan told CBS4.
She has a team of volunteers cleaning up her property, making sure the weeds are wacked, and the debris cleared.
"I have parents that are aging, and I had grandparents that I helped out as a kid. And a lot of times the mundane things that we don't think about when we're younger are the difficult things as we age," said Elliot Forsythe, board chair for Cultivate.
LINK: Sign up for a Day of Service Project
Cultivate is a nonprofit in Boulder County. They're dedicated to keeping seniors engaged in the community and allowing them to age in their homes. They offer transportation and shopping services, as well as, yard work and snow removal.
"A lot of times, it's keeping seniors in their own environment, whatever they consider home," Forsythe explained.
This isn't the first time that Cultivate has been to Calahan's home.
"Come out and helped us put up bars in the house because my husband fell a couple of times," Calahan said.
Cultivate is hosting 110 volunteers during Xcel Energy's Day of Service, on Saturday, September 8th.
"It's a lot of people power at the same time to really help get jobs done quickly and efficiently and be able to tackle bigger things that we may not be able to do usually," Forsythe said.
