Local seniors needed to be foster grandparents

If you are an able senior citizen, with time on your hands and a love for the community the Foster Grandparent program could use you.

“We are in need of more foster grandparents,” Melissa Howard, who the volunteer coordinator who works with Vivian Smith, who directs the multi county program for the RSVP agency.

She said with recent retirements they are down to about 20 people across the five counties.

Since Covid, we have had many volunteers leave, she noted.

The main worksite in Tupper Lake is at the LP Quinn elementary school, and so some were worried about coming back to school.

The foster grandparents at L.P. Quinn are placed with a teacher and they help that teacher in the classroom for the full school year. “They are another set of hands in the classroom!” Helping kids with numerous things they need help with.

Many work in the primary grades, but there are also seniors who help in fourth and fifth grades.

“They also help with reading and writing and they do centers with the younger kids. She explained that the centers are centers of learning within the classroom where different subjects are taught.” So a foster grandparent may work with some kids on multiplication tasks, for example.

There are many incentives to wanting to be a foster grandparent, according to Mrs. Howard. “It is a good reason to get up every morning and staying active. And to do something very helpful and very wonderful for the children of our community. it gives many people purpose in their lives.

Melissa has been involved with the program since June of 1999 and Vivian Smith joined the program several months earlier. Since then they have worked with dozens and dozens of wonderful local volunteers. Christine Snyder their office manager has been associated with the agency for the past seven years.

The other incentive of being a foster grandparent is financial. For their efforts, they receive a non-taxable stipend. The overall program is funded by AmeriCorps seniors and volunteers receive four dollars an hour for their service. The overall program is hosted by Catholic charities of the diocese of Ogdensburg.

The agency is also funded in part by the state office of aging. The village of Tupper Lake also donates annually to the senior program.

Years ago, the foster grandparent program here was run out of Sunmount DDSO, under people like Joe Lalonde. At that time many of the local foster grandparents worked with the younger residents at the state-run facility here.

In recent years, the worksite has been the elementary school. She noted there is one person working at the high school who is involved with mentoring students there.

Mrs. Howard said the non-taxable stipend doesn’t count against any other pension, benefits, or income seniors might have. There is also no effect on if they are receiving some type of rental subsidy.

In addition to the small stipend, they receive credit for personal time, vacation time and sick time. There are so many days allotted every year based on how long a person has been involved with the program.

For example, a person receives two weeks vacation providing they have given six months of service to the program.

The program used to call for a minimum of 15 hours of work per week, she said.

Since Covid, it is now minimum of five hours a week, but the more the foster grandparent volunteers in the school the more money they get in their pay checks. Foster grandparents can work up to 40 hours per week if they choose.

For some people with limited incomes, what they receive as foster grandparents really helps make ends meet, the coordinator noted.

It is very easy to become a foster grandparent. “You just stop by our office” in our office behind Gillis real estate (entrance on Cliff Ave) or call us at (518) 359-7688. And we will send you an application.

She explained there is a vetting process and successful candidates have to pass a background check. They also have to have their fingerprints done. There is no cost, however for any of the application process.

“There is no cost to apply to become a foster grandparent,”she stressed.

Another requirement to join their agency is that the applicant must have a form filled out by their doctor that they are able to work.

One long time foster grandparent was the late Larry Wood worked for years in the high school guidance office sort of counseling kids but what they might do as adults for careers. Larry was a longtime business leader in this community and operated a laundromat on Park Street.

Mrs. Howard said that Stanley Bailey was another very good foster grandparent who worked with them for years. Stanley retired last year and he like Larry join the program at about its start in 1999.

Other longtime volunteers like Pat Lamere, started at the Sunmount site and worked at the school years later, retiring earlier this year. Mae Lamare also retired this year. Mrs. Lamare was also involved for many years.

“We also cannot forget, Joan Crary who joined our program in 2001. Joan retired last year after giving us many years of great help.

“These are just some of our great OGs,” an acronym the office girls use lovingly use for ‘original gangsters.’

There is room for a number of new hires. The current budget allows for 52 foster grandparents in the regional program. There are currently foster grandparents working in both Plattsburgh and Malone as part of the local program.

Mrs. Howard goes every year to the regional Seniorrama for recruitment purposes, and to explain the benefits of their program.

They have recently hired two more foster grandparents and would like to hire at least a half a dozen more. “ Across region I would like to hire 20 more people and five or six Tupper Lake.”

Mrs. Howard noted that there are more foster grandparents here in Tupper Lake because the office is located here and because the staff is here.

She admits she has some connections through family that help her recruit and find good people in both Plattsburgh and Malone and other places in the region.

“So come and see us and pick up an application and we would love to discuss our program with anyone here who is interested!”