Since 2006, the Ritchot Senior Services office has operated to lend a hand to seniors in the Rural Municipality of Ritchot and more recently Lorette. To ensure the group’s continued success, a number of volunteers are needed.
This not–for-profit resource center is governed by a volunteer board of directors and has a part time resource coordinator, Denise Laurencelle. The Ritchot Senior Services is modeled after the Services to Seniors program, under the hospice of the South Eastman Health Inc. The Services to Seniors program assists communities in assessing the needs of their seniors and developing services that will support seniors in maintaining an independent lifestyle.
“It is important to recognize that these community development programs and groups only exist if local volunteers step up to the plate and get involved,” says Lesley Gaudry. “Seniors groups and many other community groups, depend on volunteer efforts to exist and operate in an effective manner. The sustainability of community development programs is only as good as the volunteer efforts that are given to them.”
The need for community development programs, like Ritchot Senior Services, is increasing significantly and will only continue to grow as the population ages.
Approximately, 11,000 of South Eastman’s residents are over the age of 55 with about 6,200 over 65 years of age. In the next 20 years, this will grow to an estimated 16.5 percent of South Eastman’s residents.
In the past year, Ritchot Senior Services fundraised much needed funds by hosting two successful dinners. Capital from these efforts went to assist with equipment and promotion of the resource centre.
The Ritchot Senior Services office specifically assisted members of the Ritchot community with Lifeline, Living It Up Programs, fee-for-service programs, an equipment loans program, and volunteer services. Several workshops such as Police Academy: Older Adults Division, Protecting your Rights and Assets, Seniors Going Green, and Going Shopping programs were also offered free of charge or at a minimal expense.
For more information on services and programs offered by Ritchot Senior Services, or how you can donate one, two or three hours of your time, contact Denise Laurencelle – Community Resource Coordinator for seniors at 204-883-2880 or by email laurden@mts.net.
For this story and more, pick up a copy of the Dawson Trail Dispatch.
