As of December 12, 2020, we have 175 volunteers serving seniors in Seabrook, Hampton, North Hampton, Rye, Greenland, Newmarket, Newfields, Portsmouth, Newington, New Castle, Dover, Rochester, Somersworth, Kittery, ME, Eliot, ME, Berwick, ME, and York, ME.
Many of our requests come from food pantry clients who are high risk. Food pantries, such as GATHER in Portsmouth, refer their high risk seniors and no vehicle clients to seacoastvolunteers. We quickly find them a match and safely deliver their groceries, respecting social distance during the entire process.
Others are self-referred, calling in and sending a message via our website, requesting assistance. Those folks will meet our volunteer at Market Basket, Hannaford, or Shaw's and the volunteer will shop for the seniors while they wait in their car.
We have also had a few calls from around the United States for loved ones in our area, including one call from Wisconsin requesting grocery shopping for her parents returning from Florida to Maine, as they are required to self-quarantine.
And a very special call from a doctor in New York, working with COVID-19 patients, concerned about his elderly in-laws in Maine.
If you are a high-risk senior, please reach out to seacoastvolunteers.org. Our very special team of volunteers is eager to assist you with your grocery shopping. There is NO COST - EVER. We are volunteers who want to bring some relief to our most vulnerable population during this uncertain time.
As our volunteers reached out to churches, senior centers, and the community to find those seniors in need, some of our other volunteers hung posters created by one of our volunteers in seacoast Market Baskets, Hannaford, and Shaw's markets.
Jennifer and Catherine are no strangers to volunteer work around the seacoast of New Hampshire. Regular volunteers for organizations, such as New Generation, SAFERcats, TASC, and Dress4SchoolSuccess, they naturally wanted to do more to help the vulnerable population be safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Volunteering with the Seacoast Volunteers is an honor and has allowed me to be part of something bigger than myself. Joining forces with compassionate, community members with a common goal to serve vulnerable populations in times of need - thank you for allowing me to be part of your team.
~Louise
Colleen has been active in collecting pet food donations for GATHER food pantry during this pandemic, as well as finding those in need of Seacoast Volunteers.