Volunteers contribute billions of dollars’ worth of services to the American economy.
Perhaps more important, they help those who may have more challenges in their day-to-day lives and those seeking critical information about health care.
For National Volunteer Recognition Month, AgeWays Nonprofit Senior Services is highlighting some of the volunteers who work with older adults without compensation, and in some cases, undergo serious training to do their volunteer work.
There are the volunteer counselors who work for the MI Options State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) helping Medicare beneficiaries understand their benefits and choosing plans that work for them – free of charge and without bias. They go through intensive training to stay current with Medicare developments.
There are Meals on Wheels volunteer drivers who pack and deliver meals to older adults who can’t get out of their homes on their own. They often are the only friendly face a person sees all day. The volunteer drivers are usually seniors themselves.
The common denominator among these folks: Their volunteer work brings them so much satisfaction, they spread the joy to other organizations that need them.
Let’s introduce them:
Debbie Griffith, New Baltimore
Debbie Griffith always has a ready smile and a kind word.
A 9-year volunteer with SHIP (formerly called the Michigan Medicare Assistance Program), Griffith has many repeat clients who come to her for help understanding and, in some cases, enrolling in a Medicare plan.
Paula Alphonse, 81, is one of them. A neighbor in Griffith’s condo complex, she stopped by recently to talk about how critical Griffith’s help has been. Because she has a Medicare prescription drug plan, Alphonse consults Griffith during Open Enrollment each year, a period when beneficiaries make plan choices for the upcoming year.
“I called Debbie when I heard she could help me with Medicare,” says Alphonse. “Now I bug her every year. It gives me peace that she goes over this with me.”
Griffith, 74, started volunteering for SHIP when Macomb County asked Meals on Wheels drivers if they’d be interested. She’d retired from a career in human resources and figured that Medicare counseling would be a good fit. It was – but she hadn’t expected it to keep her up at night, which it sometimes does.
“But it keeps my mind alert,” she says. “It’s got substance.”
Griffith’s husband died 15 years ago, and while she babysits for her two grandkids on occasion, she says she needs something to do.
“I want to be productive, but I don’t want the obligation of a job every day. “I feel this is productive work so it satisfies that need for me, but it doesn’t take up more time than I choose to give it,” she says.
Along with her SHIP work, Griffith is a regular delivery driver in nearby New Haven for Meals on Wheels. She also helps register voters with the League of Women Voters.
Peggy Kahn, Ann Arbor
Peggy Kahn is another powerhouse SHIP counselor.
A retired University of Michigan political science professor, Kahn applies her intellect to the complex and nuanced world of health care and Medicare.
In 2022 Kahn took the training to become a certified SHIP counselor. By 2023, she was ready to go.
Despite being retired, Kahn is counseling almost full time, working off referrals and online requests to SHIP for help – and people she’s helped in the past. She counsels at public libraries, senior centers, and the county public health building in Ypsilanti.
“It’s constant; there is a huge demand out there,” Kahn says. She attributes the need to a few factors, among them that Medicare beneficiaries appreciate a slower counseling approach to the “rushed bureaucratic script” of brokers who are selling health insurance plans.
It’s true that SHIP has helped many Medicare beneficiaries save money, but Kahn says alleviating their stress is immediate and gratifying.
“When you talk to someone over the phone, as soon as they know you can help them solve their problem you can hear the sigh of relief. They were on the verge of a nervous breakdown and now they can sleep tonight,” says Kahn. “Solving problems of people who really need care and medication and are caught in the insurance thing and you’re helping them secure their health care – those are some of the satisfying, moving, and meaningful encounters.”
Other former volunteer gigs included doing health outreach for the Washtenaw County Health Department, being a friendly caller with the Area Agency on Aging in Genesee County and tutoring reading for Ypsilanti elementary schoolkids. She is currently serving as a full-time SHIP counselor.
Bob Neaton, Novi
After he and his wife were injured in a bad car accident five years ago, Bob Neaton had an epiphany of sorts. With time to think, he recognized that helping other people would be a meaningful addition to a busy career as an attorney.
“You have time to reflect on what you’re doing for other people,” he says. “I decided to do something with Meals on Wheels.” His company was good with him doing deliveries, so Neaton got busy.
Retired as of late June last year, Neaton has been making deliveries to homebound adults in western Oakland County every week and when substitute drivers are needed. His route takes him under 2 hours and has connected him with people from 70 to 99 years old. They all have interesting life stories, he says.
“Each one is a little bit different and has their idiosyncrasies. Some have fascinating stories and some are stretching the truth on a few things,” Neaton laughs. “It’s funny and it’s humbling.”
The father of 7 says he also recognizes how alone and vulnerable older adults can be. Chatting for a few minutes with the people he meets on his route helps Neaton to identify tripping hazards like loose rugs and stray objects on the floor. Some have no family at all. One woman regularly left her door unlocked.
In the five years he’s been delivering, several of his clients have died.
“It opens my eyes to how vulnerable some seniors are and how much they need support like this,” says Neaton, 69. “They’ll say it’s one of the only hot meals they get, that sometimes I’m the only contact they have.”
His contact with older adults has taught him other more practical lessons, like the importance of not having steps if your mobility has declined. One of his clients set up a bed in the living room.
“It reminds me to take care of myself and be aware of how quickly a life story can change,” Neaton says.
Richard Landuyt, Richmond
You can’t help but feel better about the world after talking to Richard Landuyt. This is how he describes volunteering:
“If you’ve had a great meal and you’re full? I feel generally full in my heart when I do this,” he says.
Eight years ago, Landuyt, 71, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He not only survived the ordeal but he’s as optimistic as anyone could be who had a brush with death.
Two years ago, Landuyt began a delivery route for Meals on Wheels, adding the gig to his other volunteering, including raising money for cancer treatment with Henry Ford Hospital’s Game On initiative. He also helps raise funds with the Richmond Rotary Club, where he learned that Meals on Wheels in Macomb County was looking for delivery drivers.
Every other Monday, Landuyt, a semi-retired real estate broker, delivers to 8 homes. It takes him between 1 and 1 ½ hours, “depending how gabby I am,” he says, and how well roads are plowed in the winter. He also subs when needed.
“The best part of delivering is seeing someone who’s so happy to see you. Even if they’re a little crabby, I don’t care. I like the people. I am fortunate to have a route where the last person is someone I’ve become friends with,” Landuyt says. He took the man to lunch because he was worried about him, but the family assured Landuyt that their relative was fine.
Bob DeWar, volunteer coordinator with the Macomb Office of Senior Services, praises Landuyt for his commitment.
“He often jumps in to cover deliveries when we need a driver and he even brings his family to help on holiday deliveries. He truly is a gift to our program,” DeWar says.
Landuyt believes strongly that giving back brings good things – maybe karma?
“I’m getting so much out of this,” he says. “And good things started to happen: I got a call from a friend I hadn’t talked to since high school, I have a new granddaughter, my son moved back to Michigan after a dozen years, and sometimes the snow melts so I don’t have to shovel.”
Diane Frank, Lambertville
Diane Frank is the kind of SHIP counselor people seek out. Stationed at the Bedford Public Library in Temperance for years, she is well known for helping Medicare beneficiaries save money and understand their plan.
“Most of them are now not just clients; they’re friends. I don’t socialize with them, but they walk in and I know their history and they know me,” she says.
Living in Monroe County near the Ohio border, Frank, 75, has helped Medicare beneficiaries in that state and Michigan sort out the complexities of the federal health insurance plan since 2013. Because she is stationed in one location and has so many clients, Frank developed her own schedule for Open Enrollment, the period at the end of the year when people with Medicare can change their prescription drug plan. Frank has her own business card, too.
Last year, Frank put in nearly 300 hours counseling Medicare beneficiaries. She also took clients who called SHIP to find a counselor.
“It’s very challenging. I tell my clients that every time I counsel I learn something. I don’t go in and claim anything, but I know where to get answers,” she says. Frank also helps clients save money, like one man whose prescription drug cost shot up to $10,000 a year.
“I’m like, don’t worry, we’ll find you something. We worked through the prescription drug list and he ended up paying $3,500,” Frank recalls. She also helped a client save thousands of dollars in asthma medications.
“I like it when they save money,” she says. “They’re so grateful.”
Frank has received muffins and flowers, but most of the time, she’ll take a hug.
A two-time breast cancer survivor, Frank volunteers for Relay for Life, an American Cancer Society annual fundraiser. She also volunteers with United Way helping people get low-cost blood work.
The Economic Impact of Volunteerism
A study released in 2021 by the federal Administration for Community Living, which administers the Meals on Wheels, Long Term Care Ombudsman and SHIP programs, found that volunteers for those programs contributed approximately 62,467,200 hours in 2019. The economic value of their work that year? $1.7 billion – or more than actual funding for the programs.
If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer with Meals on Wheels, please call AgeWays at 800-852-7795 to be connected with your local provider.
To join SHIP as a volunteer Medicare counselor, call 248-262-0545 or email us at ship@ageways.org.
