Can volunteering help people with Alzheimer’s?
June 12th, 2008From Joseph Shapiro on NPR, a feature on a program in Cleveland in which older people with age-related cognitive challenges work with students in an inner-city charter school.
Studies of older people who did regular volunteer work in schools have suggested that volunteers increased physical strength, increased social activity and boosted cognitive activity. Dr. Peter Whitehouse, a co-founder of Cleveland’s Intergenerational School, is trying to prove that volunteering has health benefits for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia as well. He also hopes to stir more interest in the value of volunteer work.
Others wonder whether it is practical to allow people with dementia — who need help themselves — to volunteer in schools.
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