The spritely senior opened the door with a wide smile and welcomed this year's team of REALTOR® volunteers into her home. They were there to help her with household tasks she can no longer do on her own.
The senior said she looked forward to their visit all week. Before embarking on those chores, she insisted that the volunteers sample her homemade cookies and then showed off a crown she received on her last birthday. She excitedly told them she would be turning 100 years old in six months.
For many senior citizens in the area, the annual REALTOR® Service Volunteer Program (RSVP) is one of the highlights of their year. That's the week in May when REALTORS® from the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® and other neighboring REALTOR® associations help seniors and the homebound with household chores they can no longer perform on their own. Tasks the REALTORS® do for free include washing windows, flipping mattresses, light vacuuming, trimming bushes, sweeping debris, replacing smoke detector batteries and furnace filters.
The REALTOR® volunteer service, now on its 14th year, is very much appreciated by seniors in the area. Many are financially in need and unable to hire someone to do simple tasks. Others have no relatives living nearby to help them with the work.
An 86-year-old senior in Saratoga said she continues to tend her rose garden, but explained there are things she can no longer do on her own, like washing windows and heavy yardwork.
"For people my age, your program is a real asset because we get to an age where it's very frustrating to do things and we're so much slower," she told the volunteers.
One elderly couple expressed their gratitude for the three volunteers who washed their windows. They said, "In the past it has taken us three days to do the work these volunteers did for us in an hour. It means so much to us … and now we can see our garden!"
The program is also an eye-opening experience for many RSVP volunteers. Susan Ward, a first-time RSVP volunteer, said she wanted to help seniors this year because she remembers her mother, who recently passed away.
"My family is in the East Coast and I wasn't able to do these things for my mom. I want to help the seniors because there were many people who were good to her there," said Ward.
Frank Quinn, also a first-time RSVP volunteer, said, "I'm caring for my own parents, and this makes me relate."
"I know older people need help and appreciate it. I don't have grandparents around and I feel for them. Our help makes their lives a little easier," said Liz Doyle, who has been an RSVP volunteer for the past three years.
Many of the seniors served their communities when they were younger – a former singer, a medical assistant, an office worker. Some continue to do what they can even in their ripe old age. The 99-year-old senior said she regularly bakes cookies and brings them to the assisted living center in town.
As she bade good-bye to the volunteers, she handed them a plate of cookies to take with them, crossed her fingers and shouted out, "See you next year, I hope."
This year, about 130 volunteers from SILVAR assisted 97 senior households in the Menlo Park/Atherton, Palo Alto, Los Altos/Mountain View, Cupertino/Sunnyvale and Los Gatos/Saratoga communities.
The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.
The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
Variations of this article have appeared in local area newspapers.
For further information, please email or call the SILVAR office at (408) 200-0100.