Western senior Cynthia Cobb and Alderwood Park resident Karen Ellingson laugh at a partially finished turkey that was made by one for the students Nov. 19. Photo by Mary Truman THE WESTERN FRONT

“I think it’s more the thought that counts,” said Western junior Ashley Nedervelt, student coordinator of Campus Christian Fellowship’s (CCF) elderly ministry.

During their weekly visit nine Western students helped residents of the center make cut-out turkeys to decorate Thanksgiving dinner trays. “I have always liked being visited, and I always will,” said resident AnnaBelle Griffith.

The visits are part of the elderly ministry program that CCF organizes. CCF began in 1972 and the elderly ministry program started three years later, founder Brady Bobbink said. There are five groups that range from three to nine students, Nedervelt said. Each group has an assigned weekday when it visits a particular center from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., she said.

While at the centers, students generally talk to residents, especially those who cannot leave their rooms, Nedervelt said. Sometimes they help with special projects such as craft time, or play games. They may also prepare a few songs to sing, or spend some time reading to a resident, she said.

“The goal of the elderly mission is to share God’s love with the forgotten in our community,” Nedervelt said.

People in the United States do not take good care of their eldery, she said. Far too often elderly family members are put into nursing homes and forgotten, Nedervelt said. Other cultures show more respect and care for the elderly, she said.

As well as  coordinating the elderly ministry, Nedervelt leads the group that visits Alderwood Park on Mondays.

She said she became involved in the elderly ministry during her freshman year at Western after her paternal grandmother died.

Nedervelt said she joined the ministry in order to learn how to better interact with her other grandmother, who died in May of this year. She said she stays involved so she can continue to have grandmotherly figures in her life.

Bobbink said participation in the elderly ministry program has fluctuated through the years. It was highest in the mid-1980s and has been lower the last couple of years. Other community organizations have visitation programs, and other student groups have sometimes gone, he said. It is one of the oldest ministries that CCF has, Nedervelt said.

At this time, the elderly mission has approximately 25 participants that make visits to Alderwood Park, Fairhaven Estates, St. Francis and Bellingham Convalescent Center. Students not involved in CCF are welcome to come, she said.

“My vision and prayer is that people are encouraged to get involved,” Nedervelt said.

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