Legacy Corps members needed for respite services
St. Matthew Center for Health, a program of Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, is currently recruiting Legacy Corps members to provide free respite services to family caregivers in the Northwest suburbs and Chicago. The deadline for applications is Tuesday, March 15.
Legacy Corps members will provide in-home care to older adults to enable them to remain independent in their own communities and provide relief to their primary caregivers for up to four hours per week.
Services may include preparing light meals or snacks, providing companionship, driving the individual to doctor appointments or shopping and engaging in other activities of a nonmedical nature that do not require the skills or services of medical, therapeutic or other licensed professionals.
Individuals accepted as Legacy Corps members will receive complete orientation and ongoing training, supervision and support. They must commit 450 hours for one year, or approximately 10 hours per week. Volunteers will receive a biweekly stipend, totaling up to $2,000 for the year, to cover related expenses, as well as a $1,450 education voucher upon completion of the year’s service.
Legacy Corps is a part of AmeriCorps, a network of national service programs that engage more than 50,000 Americans each year in intensive service to meet critical needs in education, public safety, the environment and other human needs, including health and housing.
The programs are run by more than 2,100 nonprofits, public agencies and faith-based organizations, such as LSSI.
Lutheran Social Services of Illinois is one of only 20 agencies in the United States selected to participate in the Legacy Corps. This program specifically uses the skills, experiences and talents of people ages 50 and older as respite caregivers.
For details or to request a Legacy Volunteer Application packet, contact Andrea Koch, Legacy Corps site supervisor, at (847) 293-0728 or Andrea.Koch@LSSI.org.
Founded in 1867, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois is a statewide, nonprofit social service agency of the three Illinois synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. For information on Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, visit www.LSSI.org.