Get Involved as a Foster Grandparent
Share Today, Shape Tomorrow!

WestCOP’S Foster Grandparent Program provides volunteer opportunities to low-income senior citizens who will become role models, mentors, and friends to children with exceptional needs.  Our mission is to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. The program provides a way for volunteers age 55 and over to stay active by serving children and youth in their communities. The Foster Grandparent Program has been in existence since 1965 and is federally funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service.   Nationally, over 27,900 Foster Grandparents have provided 24 million hours of service throughout the United States. The mission of the Corporation for National and Community Service is to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering.

Foster Grandparents will serve children who need some extra help in the classroom by serving as tutors and mentors; help children learn to read and discover math while assisting the teacher with a variety of other classroom activities. Currently there are over 200 seniors serving hundreds of children in numerous Head Start centers, pre-schools, and elementary schools throughout our WestCOP Foster Grandparent Program. Most partnering volunteer sites operate co-occurring with their local school schedule in their districts. While some programs operate September through June, a few sites extend the invitation into the summer months.

We place eligible seniors in academic settings to work with young people in the following counties:

  • WESTCHESTER
  • DUTCHESS
  • SULLIVAN
  • ULSTER
  • ORANGE

Requirements

A Foster Grandparent volunteer must be a minimum of 55 years of age and income eligible (under 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines).  Volunteers receive a tax-free hourly stipend for their 15 to 35 hours of weekly service activities along with paid vacation, holidays, sick leave and mileage reimbursement.

If you would like to share your love, time and experience,
you have the power to help a child who needs you.

All you need to join is the ability to give the kind of comfort and love that sets a child on the path toward a successful future. If you’re 55 or older and want to share your experience and compassion, you have what it takes to be a Foster Grandparent! The research indicates that volunteering helps seniors to live longer and more independently while promoting a positive outlook on life.

Remember, when you volunteer, you’re not just helping others—you’re helping yourself.  Volunteering leads to new discoveries and new friends.  Plus, studies show that volunteering helps you live longer and promotes a positive outlook on life.  So get involved, and join Foster Grandparents today!

Download Flyer: ENGLISH – SPANISH

Make a difference.
Be part of a national movement to transform America through the involvement of its citizens.

Contact:

Donna Elise Bell, Director
debell@Westcop.org
(914) 592-5600