Senior center members enjoy a Thanksgiving Day meal at their center.

The Department for the Aging’s Volunteer Resource Center made the holidays brighter for senior center members across the city.

Over the holidays, many senior centers celebrated with festive meals, decorations, dances, fashion and magic shows, and other entertainment. Senior center members’ families were invited to events, and staff members contacted members who would be alone for the holidays.

To help centers meet their holiday season needs, the VRC recruited, trained and placed volunteers, who served approximately 100 hours in positions such as kitchen helpers, meal servers and decorators.

Since its inception two years ago, the VRC has placed numerous volunteers with DFTA and with community partners. In 2016 alone, volunteers provided more than 1,000 hours of service.

The VRC recognizes its volunteers in a monthly feature on DFTA’s website and social media channels. Gail B., a holiday helper and Bill Payer Program volunteer, was recently featured in the Volunteer Spotlight.

She described herself as being in the “middle of the baby boomer generation.” Her professional background includes more than 30 years in finance and management, including her current job as a corporate credit analyst.

“It makes me happy to bring peace of mind where there had been turmoil. The Bill Payer Program is enormously rewarding,” she said of her volunteer work. “With each of my three clients, I went into a situation where the household books were in complete disarray: bills unpaid, creditors calling, services soon to be canceled. The seniors were very distressed and harassed. After two or three visits, order was restored and a proper bookkeeping routine was established.”