Time To Share, Time To Care, Time To Act: Be A Telephone Buddy

Safe at Home orders in which adults age 60 and over were instructed to stay at home has been particularly difficult in this period of COVID-19.  Staying at home has been even more difficult for individuals in senior living facilities.  Many people who live in their own homes or an apartment have found similar hardships. 

Families and friends have been separated from loved ones.  The human touch has been missing.

While COVID-9 is a time for panic, fear, and extreme caution, it is also a time for opportunity.  The theme for my high school yearbook in 1971 was “A Time To . . . “.  With our eyes on college, new experiences on the horizon, new friends, and all our 18-year old optimism, my small high school class of 27 from a small town in Western Kansas set out to conquer the world. 
Time was ours! Time was our friend! Time gave us the opportunity to live and experience the world!

Time is still our friend.  Time helps us to remember the good, the times we were successful, the times we were proud of ourselves and those around us. Time helps us think about the future and reframe our lives.

Now, almost 50 years later, COVID-19 has given us time. This time maybe, just maybe, it is a time-out.  Social distancing has given us time to care, time to share, and time to act.

The time is now to make a list of who is important, who we want to visit, and who we want to care about.  Now is the time to call a friend that we haven’t received a holiday greeting card from for years or that cousin whom we were fond of at family gatherings. 

Now is the time to find activities that we can do when we are working hard to stay at home. Time to listen to our favorite songs, which are only a click away on our computer or smartphone. Time to sew, garden, or read.  Learn to find pleasure in “being alone”.  There is a difference between being alone and being lonely.

Time to find a new cause. Or spend more time on the causes in which we are involved. Work can often be done from the privacy of our homes.

The Colorado Gerontological Society has launched a Telephone Buddy program.  A Telephone Buddy is a volunteer who calls an older adult to check on them, share stories, and make sure their needs are being met.  Telephone Buddies share time and bring a sense of purpose.

A Telephone Buddy provides a human touchpoint.  In this time of social distancing, a Telephone Buddy is the friendly voice of a live person with whom you can feel a connection.  Sign up to be a Telephone Buddy.  If you want a Telephone Buddy to call you, call 303-333-3482, 1-855-293-6911 or 1-855-880-4777 (Spanish).

Register for Training 

Volunteers who want to be Telephone Buddies participate in orientation and training.  The purpose of the training is to explain the purpose of the training, participation requirements, and supports for volunteers and older adults who need more services than those provided by the volunteers.

Volunteers must complete an application, attend the training, and be screened including passing a CBI background check.

The training will be from 4:00 to 4:45 pm.  Individuals must only attend one training.  

Upcoming Trainings

October 6, 2021 Register

October 20, 2021 Register

November 3, 2021 Register

November 11, 2021 Register

November 17, 2021 Register

December 1, 2021 Register

January 5, 2022 Register

January 19, 2022 Register

February 2, 2022 Register

February 16, 2022 Register

March 2, 2022 Register

March 16, 2022 Register

April 6, 2022 Register

April 20, 2022 Register

May 4, 2022 Register

May 18, 2022 Register