Educational Objectives
1. To inform Virginians about The Shepherd’s Center of Richmond, a non-profit service organization by, with, and for older adults.
2. To demonstrate the impact of volunteer service as a means to finding a sense of meaning and purpose in later life

Frank, Linda

VCU Scholars Compass

Virginia Commonwealth UniversityVCU Scholars CompassCase Studies from Age in Action Virginia Center on Aging2006The Shepherd’s Center of Richmond:Opportunities for Meaning and Personal Growththrough ServiceLinda FrankShepherd’s Center of RichmondFollow this and additional works at: http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/vcoa_casePart of the Geriatrics CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Virginia Center on Aging at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion inCase Studies from Age in Action by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contactlibcompass@vcu.edu.Recommended CitationFrank, L. (2006). The Shepherd’s Center of Richmond: Opportunities for Meaning and Personal Growth through Service. Age inAction, 21(1), 1-4.Volume 21 Number 1 Winter 2006The Shepherd’s Centerof Richmond:Opportunities forMeaning and PersonalGrowth through ServiceLinda Frank, B.S., B.S. Ed.Educational Objectives1.  To inform Virginians aboutThe Shepherd’s Center ofRichmond, a non-profit serviceorganization by, with, and forolder adults.2.  To demonstrate the impact ofvolunteer service as a means tofinding a sense of meaning andpurpose in later life.BackgroundThe Shepherd’s Center conceptarose organically, driven by theneeds of one aging community.In 1971, Elbert Cole, the mini-ster of a large church in KansasCity, Missouri, recognized thathis congregation was aging andsought ways to address thechanging needs of his members.His first inclination was to builda nursing home, but on theadvice of the seniors themselves,he changed his approach.  Whatdeveloped was The Shepherd’sCenter, an interfaith, non-profitorganization with the mission toempower older adults to usetheir wisdom and skills for thegood of their communities. Themembers, all over 50 years ofage, organized committees toassess the needs of their fellowseniors and to devise ways tomeet those needs.  Homedelivered meals, handy-manservices, friendly visits, andtransportation to medical ap-pointments were among the firstservices offered to seniors byseniors at the Kansas CityShepherd’s Center.  Aneducational component of theprogram soon became a popularenrichment activity.  Today,there are 75 Shepherd’s Centersin 21 states serving tens ofthousands of older adults,including three sites in Northernand Central Virginia.  When seniors themselvesrespond to the needs of otherseniors, the results are far greaterthan mere quantitative measuresof meals served or rides given.Shepherd’s Center activitiesoffer a means for tremendouspersonal satisfaction and growthfor the volunteers who providethese crucial services.   Through“giving back” in ways that fillgenuine and urgent needs,volunteers realize a profoundsense of purpose and meaning intheir lives. This is what makesShepherd’s Centers unique.  Numerous authorities on aging(e.g., Erikson, 1963; Schulz1986; Moody, 1997) haveconcluded that the search forpersonal meaning and integrityis a crucial part of our spirit-uality as we age, and is a sourceof great satisfaction and personalgrowth. Inside This Issue:VGEC Editorial, 5 Focus: Jason Rachel, 10 White House Conf. on Aging, 14VCoA Editorial, 6 VGA-VERC Conference, 10 Calendar, 18VDA Editorial, 7 Aging & Spirituality, 11 Staff Listings, 19Focus: John Quarstein, 7 ARDRAF FInal Reports, 12 Back Page, 20Case Study2Rowe and Kahn (1995), in theirnow famous study, define suc-cessful aging as “the ability tomaintain three key behaviors orcharacteristics: (1) low risk ofdisease and disease-relateddisability (2) high mental andphysical functions (3) activeengagement with life.”  How-ever, Wong (2000) argues theirdefinition fails to consider thepossibility and potential of“success” when we have becomefrail or ill.  He stresses that it isnot merely health and product-ivity that mark successful aging,but also engagement in theactivities that provide meaningand sense of purpose in later life.These activities are vital to ourmental and physical health as weage.  The Shepherd’s Center ofRichmondThe Shepherd’s Center ofRichmond, begun by RobertSeiler and incorporated in 1984following the Kansas Citymodel, is dedicated to enrichingthe lives of older people andenabling them to continue to livemeaningful lives.  It preciselyaddresses the crucial needs ofpurpose and meaning.  Mostinterestingly, it does so throughsimultaneously addressing theproblems of inadequate transpor-tation, isolation, and the need forsocialization and intellectualstimulation.  The Shepherd’sCenter of Richmond is acompletely volunteer-operatedorganization of senior volunteershelping other seniors in thecommunity.  Personal ServicesMore than one in five adults 65years of age and over does notdrive.  Transportation is recog-nized as one of the most crucial,under-addressed needs for olderadults.  Transportation to gro-cery stores and to medical anddental appointments is essential.When caring volunteers addressneeds such as transportation,minor home repair, and billpaying, it becomes increasinglypossible to minimize feelings ofdependence and isolation.  Noone lives “independently”; weare interdependent throughoutour lives.  For both providersand recipients of Shepherd’sCenter services, the sense of thisvital interdependence createsopportunities for satisfaction andgrowth.The Shepherd’s Center ofRichmond provides services toseniors in the community who,for whatever reasons, cannotprovide those services for them-selves. Included services aretransportation to medical, dental,grocery shopping, and otheressential appointments; friendlytelephone calls or visits; helpwith tax, insurance, medical,financial and similar forms; andminor home repairs. Theseservices are available to anyonein the community who is age 60or over, and who is in need.  It isnot necessary to be a Shepherd’sCenter member to receiveservices.  A client who needsservices may call the office andspeak with an office volunteerwho will match the client with avolunteer driver who lives nearthe client.  The Shepherd’sCenter service area is defined byzip codes within which there aresufficient numbers of volunteersto provide service.  Last year, 88 volunteer drivers,using their own cars, filled 1,853round-trip ride requests.  Driversalmost always stay with theclient in the doctor’s office, andoften stop with the client at apharmacy on the way home tofill a prescription.  In severalcases, a client was admitted tothe hospital, and the volunteerstayed, as one would withfamily, until the person wasready to return home. Thepersonal satisfaction derivedfrom regularly providing tran-sportation to clients who couldnot otherwise make the trip istremendous.  One volunteerdriver insists on using the word“friends” rather than “clients.”This driver has routinely takenpeople to medical appointmentsand grocery shopping for morethan 15 years. Moreover, volun-teers made over 1,400 friendlyvisits or calls and over 50 minorhome repairs last year inresponse to requests.  Education and SocializationThe Center’s Open Universityprovides opportunities for3intellectual stimulation andsocialization. Classes are held atchurches in three areas ofRichmond. Eight-week terms inthe fall, winter, and springfeature well-qualified lecturersor instructors, many of whomare faculty or retired facultymembers of area colleges anduniversities. All instructorsvolunteer their time.  Programsat the three sites differ. Membersmay attend classes at anylocation at any time for a single$25 per-term tuition. OpenUniversity courses may includeforeign languages, literature,history, political science, art,music, religious studies,philosophy, science, writing,estate planning, bridge, yoga,Feldenkrais, health subjects, andtravel (including a weeklyillustrated travelogue at eachsite). A bring-your-own-lunch isfollowed by a noon presentation.Recent presenters have includedauthors Melvin Patrick Ely andKenneth Alford, Glen Winters ofthe Virginia Opera, and RalphWhite of the James River ParkSystem.Each term averages some 340registrants, all age 50 or over,and more than 70 peoplevolunteer their time as teachers,hospitality workers, andorganizers.  The volunteers ofthe Shepherd’s Center EducationCommittee are completelyresponsible for planning andcarrying out the myriad detailsof each term. Many seniors haveattended the Open University formore than 10 years, citing thefriendships and the continuedlearning as keeping them happyand eager to return each year.Volunteer LeadershipShepherd’s Centers are special intheir capacity to engage volun-teers in leadership roles.  TheRichmond center employs onlythree people: the executivedirector, an administrative assis-tant, and a part-time volunteercoordinator.  Some 400 volun-teers carry out all other work,giving more than 20,000 hoursof service annually.  This workranges from teaching or directpersonal service to organi-zational planning, committeework, and board leadership.Individual volunteers maintainthe Shepherd’s Center web siteand database, prepare mailings,and make public presentationsabout Shepherd’s Center oppor-tunities. While it is not uncom-mon to find older adults givingtheir time to service organi-zations like Meals on Wheels, itis unusual for an organization tobe almost entirely comprised ofolder adults.Case Studies1.  Dr. F., a gentleman of 75 whohad been dean of a mid-westernuniversity, came to theShepherd’s Center looking forsomething to do to keep himselfoccupied after his wife passedaway.  He began attending theOpen University, where he met anumber of other men with whomhe enjoyed the history classes.Hearing a request for drivers inthe north side of town, he volun-teered to drive once a week,quickly becoming well knownfor his willingness to respond onshort notice and in difficultcircumstances.  He continued asa driver until he was in hiseighties, when his healthsuddenly deteriorated.  Duringhis tenure with the Center as adriver, he had driven more than370 times.  Upon this“retirement,” Dr. F. sent a letterto the office, saying that this hadbeen one of the most meaningfuland fulfilling experiences of hislife.  No longer able to volunteeras a driver, he became a friendlycaller/visitor, for he haddeveloped friendships withseveral retired men who came torely on the reassurance of hisregular presence in their lives.  2.  Mrs. D., 78 years old withmacular degeneration and inneed of memory support,contacted The Shepherd’s Centerwhen neither her daughter noranyone else was able to take herto a medical appointment.  Shespoke with an office volunteerwho matched her with avolunteer driver.  The officevolunteer called Mrs. D. to tellher who her driver would be andthe driver called to introducehimself, letting her know that hewould be taking her.   Anxious,Mrs. D. called the office severaltimes during the week, con-cerned that her driver would notknow where she lived.  Officestaff responded kindly to eachcall.  On the morning of theappointment, the driver called toreassure her that he was on hisway.  The driver stayed withMrs. D. at the doctor’s officeand stopped at a pharmacy onthe return trip to get her pre-scription filled.  Several dayslater, the office received a smalldonation and a note from Mrs.D., saying that the driver hadbeen courteous and helpful andthat she was very grateful forwhat The Shepherd’s Center haddone for her.  The driver report-ed that she had been delightful,and that he would happily drivefor her whenever the need arose.SummaryFew of us hope for a retirementthat is merely busy, as full oftasks, deadlines, and bustle asthey ever were when we wereworking.  For many of us, theretirement years offer both theopportunity to focus on our ownsense of purpose and meaning,and time to pursue activities thatallow us to express that purpose.Whether in the healthcare,government, or non-profit set-ting, issues of esteem, purposeand meaning so central to laterlife often remain neglected; foraging-related public and privateefforts tend to focus on pro-viding essential services that aredesperately needed. These mayinclude programs for social-ization, physical activity, mentalstimulation, or a variety of otherneeds. However, the majority ofthese programs are, bydefinition, recipient-oriented.Services or activities aredelivered to those whoparticipate in programs. TheShepherd’s Center does this andmore, focusing on both giver andreceiver.  Those who are new to theShepherd’s Center often ask,“What do people get for their$25 membership dues?”  Thestandard response is that theywill get a discount on OpenUniversity tuition and a discounton wonderful travel oppor-tunities.  It may take a little timefor new members to appreciatefully how much more theyreceive. Through theirparticipation in The Shepherd’sCenter, whether as a donor, anOpen University student, avolunteer, or as a recipient ofservice, they will grow to feelthat they personally participatein, and contribute to, anenriching and vitally importantorganization.  There is a greatsense of camaraderie, of pur-pose, and of meaning in beingpart of an organization thattouches one’s own life and thelives of thousands of people inRichmond each day.Study Questions1.  How does volunteer servicehelp to generate a sense ofpurpose and meaning?2.  How can churches, civicorganizations, and senior serviceorganizations implementprograms that will encourageolder adults to share their time,talent and wisdom?About the AuthorLinda Frank is theExecutive Director ofThe Shepherd’sCenter of Richmond.She holds degrees inboth Psychology and Educationfrom Virginia CommonwealthUniversity.  In addition to herfull-time position with the Shep-herd’s Center, she contributesmore than 15 hours of volunteertime each week to her religiousorganization.ReferencesBailey, Linda. (2004). AgingAmericans: Stranded without options.Washington, DC:  SurfaceTransportation Policy Project. Erikson, E.H. (1963). Childhood andsociety. New York: W. W. Norton. Moody, Harry R. and Carroll, David.(1997).  Five stages of the soul:Charting the spiritual passages thatshape our lives.  New York: RandomHouse.Rowe, J. and Kahn, R. L.  (1995).Successful aging. New York: DellPublishing. Schulz, R. (1986). Successful aging:Balancing primary and secondarycontrol. Adult Development and AgingNews, 13, 2-4. Wong, Paul T. P. (2000). Meaning inlife and meaning in death in successfulaging. Accessed at: www.meaning.ca/articles/successful_aging.html4

The Shepherd’s Center of Richmond: Opportunities for Meaning and Personal Growth through Service

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The Shepherd’s Center of Richmond: Opportunities for Meaning and Personal Growth through Service

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