Unison Veiner Center is a complete community within itself
Nothing gets done without hard work. Everyone who’s worked a job knows this. It takes a lot of people, a lot of hours and even more elbow grease to take down even the simplest of tasks, but there’s no better feeling than a job well done.
The sense of accomplishment of making a difference is often its own reward, which explains why volunteering is so popular.
Across Canada, it’s most popular with the clientele of Medicine Hat’s Veiner Centre: seniors.
Seniors make up an enormous portion of volunteers.
More than 40 per cent of those age 65 or older volunteer — devoting 216 hours annually according to statistics from 2012.
They are also more likely to be the “top volunteers” at any given location — the top 25 per cent of volunteers who contribute the most hours.
The volunteer contribution of seniors is valued at approximately $5 billion, annually. So many incredible organizations would not be able to function without the wonderful service of their senior volunteers.
At the Unison Veiner Centre, service is a two-way street.
We currently have 170 (164 are seniors) volunteers supporting our work at the Veiner Centre and Strathcona Centre.
In 2023, these volunteers contributed 13,899 hours of work. This is the equivalent of 7.5 full-time staff. Each volunteer donated approximately 82 hours of time to our organization.
In volunteering with us, they can give back directly to their community. Because the Unison Veiner Centre directly supports seniors in Medicine Hat.
There are so many opportunities to give back because Veiner offers a huge breadth of services directly and specifically for seniors.
You might volunteer for Meals on Wheels, delivering food, hope, connection and independence to isolated seniors in their homes.
One may also help out at the annual Free Tax Clinic for low-income seniors.
It goes to the end of April and is a chance to ensure all seniors in our community not only get their taxes done, but that they have access to important benefits like the Canada Pension Plan or Guaranteed Income Supplement.
Transportation to medical and legal appointments can be a challenge, and volunteering to transport someone to and from these appointments can be very rewarding and provide companionship at the same time.
If folks are having difficulties getting things like their pension squared away — or any other number of difficult, bureaucratic processes — Veiner’s Seniors Support can walk you through, step-by-step, to ensure all the Ts are crossed and the Is are dotted.
And life is getting expensive these days — doubly so for seniors.
This is why Veiner Centre’s Thrive Food Security Program has volunteers and staff ensuring that the seniors of Medicine Hat have full cupboards and full bellies.
But it is not just assistance, we also want Veiner Centre to be a place to have fun and celebrate our senior community.
Our Bistro is a place to gather for a meal and community, and our Active Aging programs keep seniors smiling, moving and enjoying themselves. This is why volunteering is especially important for the Unison Veiner Centre.
Not only are seniors helping our organization, but they are also helping each other, giving back directly to their community, and helping one another live their best lives.
That is a valuable opportunity, and why we here at Veiner know for a fact: that our volunteers are priceless.