The Many Rewards of Giving Back

There’s nothing more rewarding than helping others. Did you know that performing good deeds is clinically-proven to be good for your health? This is one of the many reasons the Branford Community Foundation is proud to fund a project that helps people give back to their community, and feel amazing in the process!

Called “Feeding the Need to be Needed,” this volunteer program was developed for members of the Orchard House Medical Adult Day Center, which provides community-based, person-centered care, social programs, and family support to those in need. This project enables Orchard House members to experience the satisfaction of serving as volunteers in the community.

“Feeding the Need to be Needed” is a meal-delivery program that coordinates with the Community Dining Room (CDR) to bring meals to homebound residents who are isolated. The meal is delivered by a member of Orchard House, who is driven in an Orchard House van to pick up meals from the CDR. Every meal-delivery volunteer is accompanied by an Orchard House staffer acting as “job coach” to ensure the delivery runs smoothly.

The program debuted on August 3, and has already had 2 successful runs.. The original goal was to have three to four Orchard House members deliver meals and companionship to the same number of homebound recipients, served monthly by the CDR. Six Orchard House members participated in the initial delivery, and four on the second, delivering to nine participants. Four Orchard House staffers took part in the first run and three on the second, along with a driver, to make sure everything ran smoothly. Staffing will likely decrease once the program becomes more familiar.

To learn more about ways you can give back to the community, call 203.444.4898
or visit our Ways to Give page today.