All in the family

Daughter for the Day provides seniors with someone who looks out for them

Friday, May 19, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff Photo by Natalie Gienger Bryans Road resident William P. ‘‘Bill” Gillogly, 74, laughs with Daughter for the Day founder Tonja Lark as the two shop for his weekly groceries. Lark started the nonprofit to provide area seniors companionship and help getting to doctor’s appointments or running errands. Eventually she hopes to see the program go national. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

Lark used to take her grandmother out to the grocery store or on other errands as she grew older.

‘‘She always had to end the day with an ice cream,” Tonja Lark recalled. ‘‘We both looked forward to that time.”

Today, those special memories have become the motivation for Lark’s nonprofit organization, Daughter for the Day Inc.

After her grandmother’s passing, Lark realized that she wanted to design a program that would meet the needs of area seniors, whether it was running errands or attending doctor’s appointments with them, or simply offering a bit of companionship.

The free program took about two years to develop — Lark worked with lawyers, insurance agents and others to ensure it would be of the utmost professional nature — and continues to take nearly all of Lark’s free time as Daughter for the Day reaches more and more area seniors.

After all, if the nonprofit was going to be a tribute to her grandmother, Lark said, all the i’s had to be dotted and all the t’s had to be crossed.

‘‘I wanted to be able to offer something to senior citizens to assist them, to bring a smile to their face the same way I brought a smile to my grandmother’s face,” Lark said in an interview in April.

And that’s exactly what the organization is doing.

But with nearly 200 seniors being served by the nonprofit and another 200 on a waiting list, Lark is on a mission to find additional volunteers who want to help the area elderly as well.

‘‘I need volunteers,” she said, noting that both men and women are welcome. ‘‘I get phone calls every day from people on the waiting list.”

In fact, Lark has even received calls from seniors outside of Maryland. And her long-term goals for the program include taking Daughter for the Day national.

‘‘My vision is to be able to assist as many seniors in as many states as we possibly can,” she said.

Still, for now, Lark is focused on finding the right volunteers, and that can take time. First of all, they have to have their heart in the right place. ‘‘Daughters” or ‘‘sons” already involved in Daughter for the Day range from teachers and police officers to stay-at-home moms and retirees.

‘‘We’re looking for people that truly care about senior citizens and want to assist them,” she said, noting that each of the 75 volunteers with the program has been handpicked by her. ‘‘I wouldn’t have anyone go out with them that I wouldn’t feel comfortable going out with my grandmother.”

Volunteers must undergo background checks, driving record checks and an interview process to make sure they meet the requirements, which include being at least 21 and having your own transportation.

Another important aspect to volunteering with Daughter for the Day is time. Individuals should have a few hours, preferably on a weekday, that they can share with a senior.

‘‘They want to get out during the day, do what they have to do and then get back home,” Lark explained, adding that daughters (or sons) help the seniors keep their independence while providing them with someone to look out for them.

‘‘We actually go in with them to their appointments; we take them to the grocery store,” she said. ‘‘We do everything that a daughter or son would do. ... [Volunteers even] make sure that they understand what the doctors tell them.

‘‘We’ve actually had to cry with some of them when they’ve found out certain things,” continued Lark, who is employed by the U.S. Department of Education.

‘‘Every aspect of the organization was created for the senior,” she said.

Seniors call 48 hours in advance for scheduling purposes, and are told the name of their ‘‘daughter” or ‘‘son.” The volunteer is then responsible for calling the senior and setting up a time to meet the senior at his or her home so they will know who and when to expect the person.

‘‘We wear bright red tops ... that were designed for the seniors because some of our seniors start losing their vision; red stands out,” Lark explained, noting that each volunteer’s name is on their shirt for safety purposes. And ‘‘the senior knows in advance who their daughter or son is going to be so they never have to worry about opening their door to a stranger.”

But perhaps the most significant benefit for both the senior and the volunteer is the personal rewards they receive.

‘‘That little bit of time that you give to a senior, it just makes their day,” Lark said. ‘‘When you go home at night, you know you made someone’s day.”

‘‘The reward that you get from them, it’s just amazing,” Daughter for the Day volunteer Sheila Dyson said. ‘‘They’re very grateful.

‘‘I had a grandmother I was really close to,” the White Plains resident said. ‘‘I really relate to the story of how Daughter for the Day came to be.”

The seniors just want someone to talk to, she said, noting that it doesn’t take much to give them a little of your time.

‘‘The reward is huge [for volunteers],” said Dyson, whose flexible schedule allows her to help out regularly, though even as little as a few hours a month is appreciated. ‘‘And it’s huge for the senior.”