For three years a dedicated group of volunteers has made it their mission to make life a little easier, and more enjoyable, for Solon’s senior citizens.
The group, Solon Senior Support, started in the fall of 2018 when Solon High School seniors Jenna Runge and Tori Jones approached Jill Weetman for their National Honor Society service project. “They made the logo, they came up with the name, and of course…they moved on (graduated),” said Weetman. Since then, Solon students have continued to make tremendous contributions to the program. “The students have been amazing, and they’re just such busy kids, but they do a great job.” Solon Senior Support, with Weetman as founder and president, officially became a non-profit organization on Feb. 14, 2019.
The volunteers provide yardwork (pulling weeds, clearing brush, shoveling snow), visits (in-person or via phone calls), transportation (medical appointments and local errands), house chores (dusting, vacuuming, cleaning), and tech assistance (smart phones, tv’s, computers/internet).
In 2019 the group hosted a picnic and project day at Meadowlark Acres Apartments and a potluck and project day at Terrace Lane/Terrace Lane Glen.
“Before the pandemic we were building up to do a bunch of fun things. We were doing Wednesday coffee at the community center (as an example,) but then the pandemic hit in full force and any group activities had to stop.” Senior Dining, which Solon Senior Support works in conjunction with Solon Senior Advocates, was among the suspended activities with Solon Senior Support delivering meals to seniors’ homes. Weetman was able to secure grants, which she used to pay for meals from local restaurants, who were also unable to do dine-in, which were then delivered by volunteers. “We were able to give people who weren’t able to get out at all something to look forward to, and it gave our restaurants a little shot in the arm too.” After the Solon Care Center was unable (due to pandemic restrictions) to provide Senior Dining’s meals, Weetman turned again to the restaurants. “About three days per week, we circulated throughout all the restaurants in town, and they would give us a great deal. Leo (Eastwood) would have chicken or pizza, or El Sol would do chicken or beef tacos, and they were huge.” In November of 2020 77 seniors received Thanksgiving dinner, and in December Christmas gift bags with meat, cheese, crackers, fruit, and a holiday floral arrangement were delivered. Also, before the pandemic, Solon students worked with seniors on “Tech Thursdays” at the community center, helping them master their smart phones, computers, and other technology. “Those kids solved every problem that the people brought in.” Weetman is working to expand opportunities for not only educating seniors on technology, but also having laptops and internet hotspots to loan out to them. “It’s not really a choice anymore (whether to go online or not), you can’t get a (Covid) booster unless you get on a computer (to find a site, sign up for an appointment, etc.).”
With the pandemic restrictions gone, Solon Senior Support has started a Wednesday morning “Coffee and Conversation” at the library. “It’s got kind-of a ‘senior-bent,’ but anybody can come.” Senior Dining has also resumed with in-house meals (with social distancing and caution strongly encouraged) on Wednesdays. “The goal is to get back to full time in-house, and deliveries. We’re going to slowly ease back into it.” The last Friday of each month will be “Meal and a Movie” day at the Solon United Methodist Church in the Fellowship Hall. “All of the senior groups went in together and bought a huge TV so we could show movies in there.”
This year the group started the “Snow Angels” program seeking volunteers to shovel seniors’ driveways and sidewalks. However, “People (potential volunteers) have jobs, and the students just don’t have the time, they’re so busy. So instead of actually doing the shoveling, let’s get the money and we’ll hire somebody.” Weetman talked to Jay Proffitt, who essentially donated his time and labor. “We only had a couple people sign up, but it’s brand new and we’ll keep doing that because so often people are out shoveling who shouldn’t be.”
Among her wish list items is a dedicated senior center, like the Johnson County Senior Center in downtown Iowa City. “I’d love to start doing more things with our seniors, getting our people down there, but their location is horrible (lack of parking). And I think there is a general feeling in Solon that we’re not really a part of all of that, even though we are, Johnson County means Johnson County. But I think people just have that general feeling of, ‘Well, that’s an Iowa City thing.”
While Solon has a number of groups and organizations, Weetman said, “I think we can do more. I think we can do a lot more. I look at other towns (like North Liberty), and we have great volunteer groups, but…aging volunteers and people not really having a lot of time to step in and step up, so I think we can do so much more. We do so much for the kids in this town, which is fantastic, that’s why you’ve got families moving to Solon, but I think we can do so much more for the seniors.”
Weetman said they’ve dreamed up their own Senior Center and what they would want in it. She added it would be nice to consolidate the many opportunities and activities in one central location with a dedicated coordinator. “Right now, we’ve got some things at the churches, and some things at the community center, and things at the library. Wouldn’t it be great if we could do it all in one place some day? I think that would be a great goal for our community. We do well, but there is always room for improvement.”
Solon Senior Support can be reached at (319) 624-2773, or by email at [email protected]. The group also has a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/solonseniorsupport and a website at www.solonseniorsupport.org.
“It’s been great. I really enjoy being involved with it. There’s so many good people all over in our town that are willing to donate their time and energy just to help other people.”
Jill Weetman (left) and Sandy Hanson with Solon Senior Support and Solon Senior Advocates, respectively.