Phone Pals
Free volunteer companionship for older adults — by phone. Everything KC Shepherd's Center does is to reduce social isolation and loneliness among older adults. Our Phone Pal program is part of the wrap-around services that help the 90% of older adults who will age in place stay safe, healthy, and happy in the place they call home.
Are you someone who would like to:
- Share stories and everyday moments with someone new?
- Enjoy warm, easy conversation?
- Build a meaningful connection — by phone?
- Meet new people and learn something along the way?
Here's how the program works:
Our Phone Pal program pairs a volunteer with an older adult for a regular weekly phone call — a simple way to ease loneliness and build a real connection.
How it works
Volunteers are matched with an older adult and agree to call weekly.
This is a real commitment, not a short-term project; please only sign up if you can keep it going for the long haul. The older adults in this program are often isolated, and they come to look forward to and rely on that weekly call.
The relationship is built through ongoing, friendly conversation, and it benefits both sides. Phone Pal volunteers often say the connection means as much to them as it does to the person they call.
Could you or someone you know benefit from a friendly phone call?
For more details and to volunteer, contact volunteer@kcshepherdscenter.org or call 816-293-9607.
"When 87-year-old Jonita Ruderman moved from Kansas City to Baltimore to be near family, her daughter didn't want her to lose touch with home. She reached out to KCSC's Phone Pal program, and Jonita was matched with a KC volunteer — the two hit it off right away. Jonita enjoyed it so much that she became a Phone Pal volunteer herself, and we introduced her to Patricia "Patty" Harris of KC, now having conversations with a new friend of her own."
