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Sydney
Cooper Senior Smiles™ is a non-profit organization
that trains, recruits, and educates volunteers of all ages
on the needs of the elderly, and then pairs the volunteer
with a lonely senior in nursing homes, hospitals, board
and care, and private homes throughout California. All volunteers
are trained to recognize and understand age related disabilities
such as dementia, Alzheimers, stroke, hearing, visual, and
mobility impairments. Sydney Cooper Senior Smiles™
is dedicated in loving memory of Sidney Cooper as shown
above in the picture. Currently Sylvia Cooper (as shown
in the picture above) is alive and well and at the age of
92 benefits daily from a Senior Smiles' visitor.
Sydney
Cooper Senior Smiles™ trains volunteers of all ages
including families with young children, couples, community
service groups, students, and student organizations to volunteer
with and understand the needs of the elderly. Sydney Cooper
Senior Smiles™ also offers training seminars for hospital
and nursing home facility staff on how to work with, communicate,
and understand the needs of the elderly that suffer from age
related disabilities on a psychological level.
Currently
Senior Smiles has a waiting list of over 100 seniors waiting
for companionship. If you are interested in bringing a smile
to a lonely senior or know of a senior in need of our services
please contact us at:
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Sydney
Cooper Senior Smiles was founded by Jill-Pizitz Hochstein
in 2001 as a means of helping senior citizens retain an
active, happy life and to break intergenerational boundaries
by forming bonds between the young and the elderly.
Named
after Pizitz-Hochstein’s late grandfather, Senior
Smiles initially came into fruition when the founder was
unable to visit her own grandmother, Sylvia Cooper, in
northern California. Sylvia faced common symptoms that
many seniors experience while living in a senior care
facility: loneliness, depression, and seclusion. Unable
to visit her grandmother regularly, Pizitz-Hochstein wanted
to recruit volunteers to offer their companionship while
she was away. It was then that she realized that there
were a low percentage of young people who understood and
were educated in age-related diseases such as dementia
and Alzheimer's. The love for her grandmother, coupled
with the need to find well-trained volunteers to offer
camaraderie to the elderly, inspired Pizitz-Hochstein
to initiate a program where she could educate local students
about the effects of dementia and Alzheimer's. Most importantly,
however, volunteers were trained to acquire the skills
necessary to interact and offer companionship to the elderly.
Today,
Sydney Cooper Senior Smiles is a recognized non-profit
organization and has expanded to serve hundreds of seniors
and volunteers throughout California. Senior Smiles remains
one of the few organizations dedicated to serving senior
citizens and educating others about caring for the elderly.
Volunteers still continue to visit Sylvia Cooper and others
like her, ensuring that seniors maintain an active, healthly
lifestyle.
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