Our Volunteers: Training the Best

Not Your Ordinary Volunteers!

SELCFIA volunteers learn how to meet challenges to health and how the health care system works.

One of the things that sets Southeast Lake County Faith in Action Volunteers apart from other volunteer groups is the level of training it provides.

Being a SELCFIA care giver is not just a matter of running errands with and for the elderly or health-challenged people who are SELCFIA’s care recipients.

And it’s not just a matter of keeping them company.

It’s also a matter of noticing health changes, ensuring home safety and having the knowledge to respond to questions about local services and transportation.

All this and more is covered in our training sessions, which are conducted periodically by SELCFIA Executive Director Audrey Gordon, Ph.D. Every volunteer that SELCFIA certifies undergoes a minimum of 12 hours of training. They are taught what to look for to keep care recipients as healthy and self-sufficient as possible. They learn about the many service agencies in the area which SELCFIA can turn to when special needs arise. Many of these agencies work closely with SELCFIA and are part of its sponsoring coalition. Not only is the information necessary for the volunteers to be proactive for their care recipients, it’s useful in their own families.

While training has generally been offered in six two-hour sessions, the schedule is flexible. Audrey will work with new volunteers to fit the training into their schedules; longer sessions, week days and week nights are all options.

Audrey is a nationally recognized expert in aging and end of life care. She is retired from the Gerontology faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s School of Public Health, where she taught health care professionals. She is a pioneer in developing hospice care programs and training physicians, hospice staff and volunteers. She has helped to establish many of the leading hospices in the Chicago area.

Anyone interested in volunteering should call SELCFIA at 847-433-9411 or contact Audrey at Audreyakg@aol.com. Volunteering requires only 1-3 hours weekly and SELCFIA is always mindful of each volunteer’s own schedules and abilities. Our volunteers report great personal satisfaction in serving their care recipients.