Volunteers socialize with senior citizens

Volunteers in the Adopt-a-Grandparent program visit the residents of local nursing homes. The volunteers meet in the west foyer of the John Taylor Building every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:45 p.m.
Katie Clark, a junior studying elementary education, is the current Adopt-a-Grandparent program coordinator and has been involved in the program for over a year.
She said the program started when Ricks College became BYU-Idaho twelve years ago.
The meetings are about 45 minutes and the volunteers alternate between five different nursing homes including: The Homestead, South Brenchley Apartments and other nursing homes around Rexburg.
Megan Foulk, a freshman studying elementary education, is the current manager of Adopt-a-Grandparent.
“A friend told me about the program, and I wanted to get involved in campus activities and decided to join,” Foulk said.
Volunteers are free to come and go as they please if they feel the need to leave. Depending on the students who participate, the number of volunteers is continually changing.
“The program is so lifting; it makes people happy, and makes me happy about being a friend to the elderly,” Clark said.
Students inquiring about getting involved in the program may e-mail serviceactivities@byui.edu.