In any given year, more than 100 volunteers help operate the Mower County Senior Center. They answer phones, serve coffee, tend garden, dance and pretty much whatever they can think up.

“And if we didn’t have those volunteers we would never be able to function,” said Sarah Schafer, executive director of the nonprofit in Austin. “We use volunteers for everything from our front desk (and answering) phone calls that come into the senior center, to the coffee shop, to bingo, to meals, to everything that goes on in the building. We have volunteer drivers that take seniors to medical appointments and everything in between. Volunteers are  extremely important for us.”

To become a volunteer means choosing from many different paths. There is also an application process,  training and, in some cases, background checks.

“It depends on what you are volunteering for,” Schafer said. “Any one-on-ones with seniors, we do a background check.”

All volunteer drivers have their backgrounds checked.

“They are going to go to a client’s house and pick them up, so it’s a one-on-one situation where they are alone with a senior,” Schafer said. “We want to make sure that a senior knows that our agency has checked out that volunteer first before we allow them to be alone with them, and  that there is no criminal background, and they’re safe with that person.”

There are variety of existing volunteer jobs available.

“We first look at what the time commitment is that you’re interested in,” Schafer said. “So if you are interested in just a couple of hours a month, that’s one type of volunteer.”

On the other side of the spectrum is a couple hours a day.

“Your time commitment would be the difference in how much training you would receive to do your volunteer position,” Schafer said. “So if you’re interested in volunteering four hours a week, that would be closer to a receptionist/front desk. Usually they are there one time a week for four hours so.”

A new volunteer would train at the desk with an experienced volunteer to get an idea of what the job duties are and how things work. So before you commit to your volunteer position, you have an idea what you are committing to.

“We find them something that is appropriate to what they are willing to commit to,” Schafer said.

The importance of volunteering goes beyond what people can do for the Senior Center. If putting someone to work will get them out of their house, the center staff finds the work — there is no shortage of that.

“They need to have that social environment,” Schafer said. “So we find them something they can do even though they can’t do a whole lot. It may be that they are able to sit at one of our breakfasts and take money, that may be just the only job that they do, but that’s something they can do.”

Interests can play a role as well in volunteering. Jobs can be found depending on what skills people have, or skills they’d like to learn.

“In the summertime, we  have a garden in the back,” Schafer said. “Maybe they would like to get their hands in the dirt. Maybe they live in an apartment or something and they never get to garden anymore. Maybe that’s what their skill is, maybe that’s what their hobby is, so we can match them up with things that maybe they really enjoy and on their own timeline.”

The Senior Center is always looking for volunteers to match up with something already in the building, but it also wants fresh ideas.

“We are always looking for new ideas,” Schafer said. “So, if somebody maybe has some idea of a class, something we can start, and that they’re willing to volunteer and help get that started, we’re happy to do that too.”

The Senior Center has many exercise classes and are in the middle of a 10-week Aging Mastery Class. each class is on a different topic such as health, finances, nutrition and intergenerational communications.

The age range for volunteers at the Senior Center is wide. It attracts many teenagers looking to fullfill  school requirements.

“We get a lot of high schoolers that come down for their scarlet cords and different things that they want to volunteer for,” Schafer said. “We give them little projects because we know this is going to be a temporary volunteer …  It’s going to be something they want to do a few hours,  get their time done and then they’re done.”

Many  times, though, “done” doesn’t stand.

“It’s a really, really cool situation usually because they typically come with some sort of preconceived notion in their head that ‘I just need to get my time in.’”

Schafer will interview the teenager and  find out what their skills are and what they like to do and match them up with the best situation for them.

“If I can do that they’re usually happier volunteering,” she said.

Things that involve technology generally work out well for the younger crowd, she said. That could mean teaching a senior to use Facebook, or their email.

“Both of them get so much out of it, especially that one-on-one with a senior.”

The Senior Center has a computer lab  in its coffee shop.

“(Teenagers) can get to know that senior and that senior probably gives as much to that kid as the kid gives to that senior,” Schafer said. “That interaction is just  amazing and usually that younger person walks out of here saying,  ‘This is incredible. I just didn’t realize this would happen.’  And so its  amazing what can happen when the younger generation interacts with the generation we have here.”

That does not mean they’ll necessarily stick around after their time requirement is met, but it’s often not the end of the relationship.

“I cannot say they stick around long term, but they come back,” Schafer said. “I have had a lot of them come back. I’ve had a lot of them invite me to their college graduation, their weddings, different things like that which is totally amazing.”

Even those who don’t return to volunteering have their lives changed, Schafer said.

“I really believe this experience sticks with them forever,” she said.

If you are interested in volunteering at the Senior Center, you can reach Schafer at 507-433-2370 or email her at saraS@mcs-inc.org, or simply stop in. The center is next to the Riverside Arena at 400 3rd Ave NE, Austin.