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CREST boasts large volunteer program

FAIRMONT — It’s well-known that CREST offers a wide range of classes for caregivers and care receivers. CREST also has an extensive volunteer program.

One of the themes of CREST is “volunteers helping neighbors” and the organization lives up to its name fully. Volunteers help with light housekeeping, transportation and respite care.

Right now, in-home services are on hold due to COVID-19, but Rob Stauter, executive director at CREST, said they typically have about 25 homes in Martin County that volunteers go into.

Volunteers help by doing chores around the house that people are unable to do themselves. These can include vacuuming, shoveling snow, changing bed sheets and other small projects.

Stauter explained that there’s no criteria someone needs to meet to get some extra help around their house.

“There’s just an enrollment process and then I go into the home to do an assessment to make sure that we cover everything that needs to be taken care of,” Stauter said.

While in-home visits are on hold right now, CREST has a new telephone reassurance program that volunteers help with.

“We have about 11 or 12 volunteers who are giving telephone reassurance calls to people. Each have a few care receivers they call once or twice a week just to reduce social isolation and make sure they’re doing OK and ask if they need anything,” Stauter said.

A big thing volunteers are helping with right now is transportation services. Volunteers help by driving care receivers to appointments or the grocery store. Volunteer drivers can go as far as Rochester, Sioux Falls, Mankato and the Twin Cities. Drivers are given a gas card.

Stauter said they normally have about 70 volunteers. A lot of volunteers are retirees, but Stauter said there are some younger people who volunteer as well.

“We have some that aren’t doing anything right now because of the pandemic, but some have come back on board after receiving their vaccination,” he explained.

Volunteers must fill out an application. Then they receive an hour-long training, undergo a background study and reference check.

“We’re always looking for volunteers, especially for transportation volunteers. The number of requests for transportation continues to increase, especially as people are getting their vaccine and wanting to go out,” Stauter said.

Stauter said they’re not sure they’ll be able to return to in-home volunteer services, but it’s something the board of directors has been discussing. They also consider guidance from the state of Minnesota.

“We’ll have some kind of big announcement when we can go back into homes,” Stauter said.

Stauter also shared that April is National Volunteer Month, a time where CREST honors its volunteers.

“We have some great volunteers and we’re really appreciative of all that they do,” he said.

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