Are you looking for a fun service learning or volunteer opportunity? New Friends might be for you!
New Friends is a program that brings together health professional students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and individuals with mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias (mentors) to meet one-to-one on an informal basis outside of the clinical setting. Through shared activities (ie, going for coffee, visiting a museum, taking a walk) and conversations, New Friends provides an opportunity for students to learn from the mentor and their family as they share their experiences with dementia. It also provides an opportunity for the mentor and their family to voice concerns regarding their care and contribute to the training of future health professionals.
The time commitment is 2 hours each month, plus a monthly hour-long debriefing/educational meeting (usually on a Saturday morning or a weekday evening) with fellow students and program staff.
Interested students should contact Heidi Pophal for more information at 262-8826 or email hpophal@wisc.edu.
Applications are being accepted now through September 15, 2017. A mandatory orientation and meet-and-greet program will kick-off the start of the program on either Saturday, September 30 or Sunday, October 1 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.
New Friends is a program of the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health and the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Alliance of Wisconsin.
This post was authored by Diane Farsetta on 08/31/2017.