Vivalon, formerly known as Whistlestop in San Rafael, is the largest non-profit in Marin County serving older adults and people with disabilities. I began volunteering as a tech tutor at Vivalon about a year ago not long after my 90 year old mother passed away. Being there, helping older adults with their technical challenges, I feel like I am honoring my parents who volunteer with various organizations throughout their lives. Even though they are both gone, I feel close to my parents when I work with the Vivalon clients.
Until recently we had students from Dominican University assisting as tech tutors, and we hope to more will volunteer. In the meantime, we could use a few new tutors. Before the Dominican students came to help we were booking client appointments two months out, which was less than ideal. If we can get a couple more tutors we could cut the waiting time down significantly.
You don’t need to know a lot about technology to help the clients, as their needs are most often rudimentary. You can really make a difference in their lives too, just by showing you care. The time commitment is pretty minimal, as I go in every Wednesday afternoon to help two clients for an hour each. Still, it adds up. 50 sessions in a year equates to 100 hours of volunteering, and that’s pretty significant. Vivalon is open to setting a time and day of the week that will work best for you.
If you’d like to become a volunteer please email Carlee Duncan: cduncan@vivalon.org. You can also put in a volunteer application here.