A former Coca-Cola and Bumblebee Foods executive, Jeanine Lewis Canales, opened a branch of Seniors Helping Seniors this week to serve Baldwin, Burke, Columbia, McDuffie, Putnam, and Richmond counties.
Seniors Helping Seniors is a 30-year-old organization that is represented in 37 states across the country. The organization offers two types of support for seniors who require assistance: companionship care and personal care.
President and CEO Canales is opening a Mid-South branch on July 10 to aid her community and the surrounding counties. The counties served were selected based on the concentration of retirees and the general population.
“Our primary office will be in Augusta, but we are planning to have satellite campuses in areas such as Macon and Eatonton,” said Canales. “At this time, we are looking to fill our caregiver team to offer the best support. We aim to make the perfect match between our seniors and their caregivers.”
Canales said she was inspired to leave the corporate world and open this branch after becoming a caregiver for her mother shortly after the COVID era. Over the years, she has helped care for friends’ family members as well as her own.
“It made me realize how many people need assistance or do not have easy access to assistance,” said Canales. “Opening this branch is my way of opening the door to spread kindness and connect those looking for help or companionship with those looking to make a difference. It’s a call to action to be kind and support our inner community, maybe inspire others outside of our business to support those close to them who need it.”
Seniors Helping Seniors aims to “hire active seniors to provide care and companionship to their less-active peers,” according to a press release.
“Seniors’ level of empathy and care is unmatched,” said Canales. “They understand what the client is experiencing. They can see themselves in that person and can become friends. Their presence and focus are very different from young people. However, we will also have young caretakers. They do have a role in our business.”
Canales stated there is no age restriction to applying to be a caretaker, nor is any type of certification or previous training required. Rather, Seniors Helping Seniors is looking for those with “heart,” a “call for kindness,” and a general understanding of caretaking.
“We will provide compensated training before pairing a caretaker with a client. We have two types of care: companionship care and personal care. Companionship care is literally being a friend and maybe doing a bit of house cleaning or checking the mail,” she explained.
“Personal care is where you may need to physically assist someone,” said Canales. “It starts with the heart, and we can guide you from there. If you have a heart to care for people, I want to talk with you. I want to meet you.”
To apply to be a Seniors Helping Seniors caretaker, visit shsmidsouthga.com to submit an online application or call 762-775-0006. Once a care team is available, Seniors Helping Seniors will also be taking requests at the above number for those in need of caretaking or companionship.
Please call the listed number or email info@shsmidsouthga.com for more information.