Volunteering is a great way to give back to one’s community. On this editorial page letters are printed week after week thanking those for their time given through volunteering.

We commend members of the community who are 55 and older who volunteer their time. Senior Corps Week, Sept. 20-24, provides an opportunity to showcase those who give back to their community, like 65-year-old Aldeyne Friel, who is a foster grandparent and volunteers at the Biddeford Primary School.

Friel was featured in a story in the weekend edition of the Journal Tribune. In an interview with reporter Dina Mendros, Friel ”“ in her second year as a foster grandparent ”“ said she helps students with reading, writing and mathematics, and also offers a little extra attention, and sometimes, even hugs.

The impact was evident when our reporter spoke to students who had Friel as a foster grandparent last school year. Kaylee Perron, an 8-year-old, third grade student at BPS, said everyone wanted to work with Friel and would vie for her time.  The hugs were nice too, she said.

While Senior Corps Week is a great time to thank and honor those who serve within their communities, it is also the perfect time to get the word and get more seniors involved in the foster grandparent program ”“ or others.

Three local programs are a part of Senior Corps in Maine, including the foster grandparent program, which was started in 1965 as part of the War on Poverty, during President Lyndon Johnson’s administration, according Susan Lavigne, Foster Grandparent Program coordinator for the People’s Regional Opportunity Program based in Portland. The program was later grouped with the Senior Companion Program and the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, known as RSVP, to make up the Senior Corps.

Lavigne said the Senior Corps programs are a win-win, and we agree. Whether enriching the lives of area youth by sharing knowledge and experience as a foster grandparent or assisting a peer who needs some assistance doing errands as a senior companion, volunteering is truly a win-win. People who volunteer often find it extremely rewarding and build friendships that can last a lifetime. And those who are assisted by volunteers may not have the chance otherwise to get some extra help with their reading or get out of the house for an activity.

For more information on the Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion programs, contact the People’s Regional Opportunity Program, at 773-0202 or (800) 698-4959, or visit www.wherepeoplecomefirst.org. For more information about the RSVP program, contact Ken Murray, at the Southern Maine Agency on Aging, at 396-6520 or (800) 427-7411, ext. 520, by e-mail at kmurray@smaaa.org, or visit www.smaaa.org.

— Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Nick Cowenhoven at nickc@journaltribune.com.