LYNN — The Senior Center is looking for more volunteers, according to the Council on Aging’s last meeting.
“Several meetings ago, we were talking about when the staff could use extra hands. What event days maybe some of us on the COA board or those that watch this (meeting)… could come in and volunteer,” Pam Edwards said.
An example Edwards used was the Juneteenth event, where they could use extra volunteers.
“In order to be a volunteer at the Lynn Senior Center, there’s two types of volunteers. There’s an abatement volunteer, and there’s a non-abatement volunteer,” Director of Elder Services Meegan Best said. “The abatement volunteers have to go through the process of filling out paperwork at the assessor’s office.” Best explained that there was a deadline by which that paperwork needed to be filled out.
“They have to be CORIed, and then they have to meet here at the Senior Center during our abatement meeting where all the rules and guidance and expectations are shared with folks,” she said.
Abatement volunteers are getting a rebate on their taxes for working at the Senior Center.
“They have to be able to meet the operational needs of the center,” Best said.
Best continued that the center does need volunteers, but she wanted to make sure people know there is a process.
“For non-abatement volunteers who want to come down and help, there is paperwork that they need to complete, and they need to be CORIed as well. And then they need to understand that there’s times that we need folks and those are the times that we’re looking to fill,” she said.
Member Dianna Chakoutis mentioned how one time over the summer, the St. Mary’s Track Team came and helped, and she asked if they could come in with their coach to help out for events.
“Yes, we can,” Best said, explaining how they’ve scheduled things with the team or other students at St. Mary’s. “They were just here, probably about two months ago, doing some moving around and helping us here.”
Chakoutis also wanted to emphasize that while St. Mary’s does volunteer at the center, any of the other high schools are welcome as long as they are with a coach or a teacher and it coincides with Best and the center.
“We are always looking for volunteers,” she said.
Best mentioned how, while at the City’s 175th anniversary, she saw the groups from Lynn schools performing and how they’d love to see that at the center.
“That was really inspiring, and it’s something that we want to further explore,” Best said.
Member Richard Smith also brought up ROTC and whether they could be volunteers.
One thing Best highlighted before shifting from the topic was having intergenerational activities with students and youth with the seniors.
