Extra Miles senior visiting program offers companionship and encouragement to socially isolated and/or housebound seniors in Notre Dame-de-Grace and Montreal West, through the kind-heartedness of dedicated volunteers.

This outreach program’s mission is to: provide companionship to seniors; understand the many challenges faced by seniors; and maintain their well-being.

A volunteer is carefully selected and matched with one senior. The Volunteer visits the senior in the senior’s home for one hour, once a week.

In addition to friendly visits, Extra Miles sponsors two annual intergenerational events to foster understanding and mutual respect between generations. One is an activity based get together to encourage the exchange of information between generations and to foster outreach, cooperation, understanding and fun; and another is a musical event, “Musical Wednesday”.

The 2011 intergenerational event held in partnership with Elizabeth Ballantyne School was awarded Association l’amitié n’a pas d’âge’s 2012 “Continuité” category prize.

Following the 1998 ice-storm, Joan Foster, a nurse at the NDG/Montreal West CLSC and a member of Montreal West United Church realized, other than medical appointments and occasionally a visiting nurse, many seniors were housebound with hardly any outside contact. With this in mind, Extra Miles senior visiting program was born.

Volunteers, seniors, community based organizations, are you interested in more information? Contact: Tracie Swim at extramiles.senior@gmail.com or 514-482-3210.