Senior Living News

Find Your Passion

The easiest way to get started volunteering is to talk with your friends and neighbors around Sun City about the organizations they know in the area. If you have trouble deciding where to volunteer, consider the things that are close to your heart.

For those who love gardening, you may want to consider growing fresh food or flowers that you can donate around your garden home or in a plot at the Garden Club of Sun City, which has rows dedicated to growing veggies for individuals in need. If you care deeply about education, you can look into helping school kids with their homework or teaching a class of your peers how to use computers, smartphones and tablets.

To give you more ideas, here are seven organizations in the Sun Valley area that rely on the strength and kindness of volunteers.

1. Sun City Posse

The Sun City Posse has worked to enhance life in the area since its founding in 1973. This dedicated group serves in many capacities, including conducting welfare checks, looking after homes of vacationers and organizing charitable drives.

The group uses a wide variety of talents, with volunteer openings for patrol, administration and support. Tech-savvy seniors can use their computer, networking, graphic design and web programming skills to help the posse keep its IT department running smoothly.

2. Sun City Fire & Medical Department

The Sun City Fire & Medical Department relies on residents to help it perform supportive services throughout the city. Volunteers are needed to complete office work, including answering phones and greeting the public.

Interested individuals can also work as a fire prevention inspector or public fire educator, teaching others about home safety and installing smoke detectors and lock boxes.

3. Sun City PRIDES

An acronym for Proud Residents Independently Donating Essential Services, PRIDES has worked to improve life in Sun City for more than 40 years. The group maintains the streets, parkways and medians throughout the city through cleanup and beautification projects.

Indoor and outdoor activities are available, including:

• Trimming shrubs and trees
  
  
• Removing weeds and litter
  
  
• Disposing of ornamental fruit
  
  
• Equipment and vehicle maintenance
  
  
• Secretarial work in the office
  
  
• Community event organization
  
  
• Website maintenance

4. Sun City Meals on Wheels

Adequate nutrition is one of the keys to good health, and the Sun City Meals on Wheels team delivers fresh food 365 days a year to ensure residents can enjoy a hot meal. Teams and individuals are welcome to drive routes and deliver meals or ride along with a driver and carry the food from the car to the home.

Leadership and supportive roles are also available if you want to coordinate other volunteers, assist potential clients in filling out applications or help with promotional events.

5. Friends of the Library

There are 15 libraries throughout the Maricopa County library district, including two in Sun City itself. If you're a book lover, this ensures you can read to your heart's content and have many chances to share your passion for books with others.

One of the largest volunteer opportunities for potential Friends of the Library members is to read to elderly adults in memory care communities. Read to Me volunteers help seniors diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer's continue to enjoy books by conducting weekly visits where they read out loud to groups.

The group also supports local libraries through the Books Around the Corner Bookstore and a Board of Directors, which run on the efforts of volunteers.

6. Volunteer Ranger Program

Eight golf courses in Sun City offer golfers the opportunity to tee up and play their favorite game in a wide variety of course layouts. Sun City golfing enthusiasts who want to keep these golf courses in top condition created the Volunteer Ranger Program.

Volunteers' tasks include handling player concerns, enforcing rules and maintaining the flow of play during games in a customer service role that lets you share your love of golf with others.

7. Sun Cities 4 Paws

Volunteers for Sun Cities 4 Paws can use their love of cats in several roles that support their furry friends, including caring for the animals at the Peoria Shelter, the Youngtown Adoption Center and the PetSmart location in Surprise. Socializer positions are available for individuals who love interacting with kitties that need a little extra care before they're placed for adoption, and you can foster a cat in your pet-friendly independent living apartment at Lifestream in Sun City.

The organization needs help to host public outreach events that teach responsible cat ownership, as well as participants to run adoption events, community fairs and open houses. If interested, you can run the group's thrift store, assisting with tasks such as sorting, arranging shelves, pricing donations and cleaning.

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