Welcome to ElderFriends' website!

Whether you are a volunteer looking to enrich your life by forming an intergenerational friendship, an older adult in need of companionship, or a family member or social service provider interested in referring an elder participant, we hope that you will find what you are looking for here. Please don't hesitate to contact us at elderfriends@elderhealth.org if you need more information.

News & Events

Click here to read our Fall 2009 Newsletter!


96 year old ElderFriends Participant Visits 1st Graders

To celebrate 11 years of collaboration between ElderFriends and Bertschi School, ElderFriends participant Clara Welch made a trip to visit the school's 1st graders. Every year 1st graders at Bertschi School make placemats to go along with the Thanksgiving meals we deliver. This year, they also created hand-crafted Valentine's Day cards to include with our Valentine's Day Dessert Delivery

Clara, age 96, brought in some of her craftwork to share with the first grade classes. Ranging from crocheted doilies, doll clothes and snowflakes to a huge, meticulously hand-stitched patchwork quilt, Clara amazed the first grades with her artistic talents. When the first-graders learned of her age they gasped in unison. "Wow!" For everyone involved, this was a captivating experience that touched all involved-evidenced by Clara's loss of words and tears of joy when meeting the children.

This connection marks the first time any of the Bertschi School participants have met ElderFriends staff and participants, and we are looking forward to continuing our unique relationship with the school. For more information about Bertschi School, please visit www.bertschi.org.

Ruth and Karen developed a great friendship over the course of the 3 years that they visited. Karen regularly helped Ruth get to luncheons, hair appointments and other events at the local senior center and invited her to help deliver meals to homebound seniors for Meals on Wheels. Although Karen is no longer an "official" ElderFriends volunteer, they continue to visit on their own time and Karen and her family consider Ruth to be like a family member.
Training Dates:

Sat, Feb 20th, 2010
10:30pm - 1:00pm

 Auburn Library
1102 Auburn Way South
Auburn, WA 98002

Sat, March 20th, 2010
12:30pm - 3:00pm

 Bellevue Regional Library
1111 - 110th Avenue NE
Bellevue, WA 98004

To sign up for a training session, you must complete a volunteer application.