LAKEWOOD — The first Wednesday of each month two hours will be set aside for new volunteer training at the Care-givers of Lakewood’s office. Starting in February with the training being held from 6-8 p.m., the time of day will vary month to month following that.
The Caregivers office is at 395 Route 70, Suite 210, in the Fleet Bank building. Call the office for further details or questions at (732) 730-0700.
"We assist over 500 care recipients in Lakewood and Jackson with simple activities, like sorting the mail and grocery shopping," said Nancy Ernst, executive director. "By having a volunteer come into their home to visit and help around the house, individuals in our own community are able to stay in their homes, enhance their quality of life and maintain their independence."
According to a press release, Care-givers of Lakewood is part of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s national Faith in Action network, which fosters caring relationships between volunteers of all faiths and their neighbors who are frail or who have long-term health needs. In more than 1,100 Faith in Action programs across the country, volunteers provide simple and essential help to those in need, which may come in a variety of ways including transportation to doctor appointments, shopping and friendly visiting.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has committed $100 million to expand the Faith in Action national network to 3,000 sites by 2007. The foundation, based in Princeton, is the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care. It concentrates its grant making in four goal areas: to assure that all Americans have access to basic health care at reasonable cost; to improve care and support for people with chronic health conditions; to promote healthy communities and lifestyles; and to reduce the personal, social and economic harm caused by substance abuse – tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs, according to the press release.