Foster Grandparents

COLORADO BRANCH

FOSTER GRANDPARENT HOME • HELP FROM THE STAFF • VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA HOME

Frequently Asked Questions By Potential Foster Grandparents

	What are the qualifications to become a Foster Grandparent?
	It’s simple. To qualify, you must be at least 60 years old, live on a limited income and able to volunteer 20 hours a week.

How do Foster Grandparents benefit?

You receive approximately $200 a month non-taxed. This stipend does not affect your social security, subsidized housing, OAP, Medicare, Medicaid or food stamps. Plus, you’ll enjoy paid time-off and holidays.

Each Foster Grandparent receives transportation reimbursement and supplemental insurance.

Some Foster Grandparents would argue that the biggest benefit is job satisfaction and a newfound purpose in life.

	Do Foster Grandparents take children into their home?
	No. You will help at-risk children at a Volunteer Station such as a child care center, school or hospital.

	What do the Foster Grandparents do with the children?
	Foster Grandparents tutor, mentor and comfort children. They help children develop basic learning skills, tutor children with reading, writing and math, prepare youth for independent living and provide children with emotional support and empathy.

	Where do Foster Grandparents work?
	We have 64 Volunteer Stations throughout the metro-Denver area, Larimer, Boulder and El Paso counties. We match you up to a site that is close to your home. Most of our Foster Grandparents travel less than ten miles to work.

	How old are the children that I’ll be working with?
	We help children from the ages of 0 to 21 years old.

	What are the qualifications to become a Foster Grandparent?
	It’s simple. To qualify, you must be at least 60 years old, live on a limited income and able to volunteer 20 hours a week.

	When would I work?
	Schedules depend on the Volunteer Station and the times you would prefer. Most Foster Grandparents work in the morning. All Foster Grandparents volunteer at least 20 hours a week.

	How do I become a Foster Grandparent?
	Simply contact us by phone, fax or e-mail, and we’ll get you on your way.

	Laura Wildt Project Manager	E-mail: lwildt@voacolorado.org Telephone: 303-297-0408 Fax: 720-264-3312
	Linda Leonard Program Coordinator Part-time	E-mail: lleonard@voacolorado.org Telephone: 303-297-0408
	Kathy Bell Program Coordinator: Colorado Springs Part-time	E-mail: kbell@vanion.com Telephone: 719-632-1448 Fax: 719-227-7164
	Emily R. Hostetter Program Coordinator Full Time	Denver Telephone: 303-297-0408 Larimer telephone: 970-472-9630 To leave message

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Foster Grandparents in the News

BOB MARTINEZ

Denver Post, September 9, 2001

"Bob Martinez has made a career out of being a grandparent. Daily he works with Sinclair’s physically and developmentally disabled kids. He lunches amid preteens and all their hormones. And his presence reminds Sinclair’s staff of what is possible when eyes and ears fail and a big heart remains. 'When I’m here I feel better,’ said
Grandpa Bob, an asthmatic who is blind in his left eye and hard of hearing despite aids. Adults must yell, but kids’ voices, he says, still come in clear."

82-year-old Bob Martinez
celebrates 17 years as
a Foster Grandparent by
working at Sinclair Elementary
in Englewood.

DAT DUC LE

Rocky Mountain News, October 1, 2001

"At 67, one-time refugee Dat Duc Le is growing new roots. He came to the United States in 1996, leaving two grown children and three grandchildren in Vietnam.

According to Dat Duc Le, ‘I treat the kids, and I treat them the way I treated my own grandchildren
in my country. I can tell they like me, too. Every
time I am in class, the children will sit by me.’ "

Dat Duc Le works with children
at Fairview Elementary School.

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For more information on the Foster Grandparent Program
Contact: Laura Wildt - 303-297-0408
E-mail: lwildt@voacolorado.org