Concierge Club for Seniors

By Cathy Yarbrough

A concierge service may seem an odd fit for a nonprofit community organization that helps low income senior citizens to live in their homes – and to avoid institutionalization – for as long as their health allows.

But, it’s such a good business decision that SDSVP this year selected the organization, ElderHelp, as one of its new three-year Investees. “With SDSVP’s expertise, we will execute a new strategy to provide something to seniors and their families that does not currently exist,” said Leane Marchese, Executive Director of ElderHelp.

For over 35 years, ElderHelp has not charged a fee when its 17-member staff and 200 volunteers transported senior citizens to their medical appointments, grocery-shopped for them or provided other services that enable people to live independently. Last year, ElderHelp helped about 5,000 San Diego senior citizens.

In coming years, ElderHelp will be called upon to help many more people, as the senior citizen population doubles over the next two decades from about 340,000 in 2008 to 740,000 by 2030, Marchese said at SDSVP’s First Friday on August 1. She pointed out that many older individuals are burdened by not only fixed incomes but also high blood pressure, Alzheimer’s and other chronic health problems.

To reach this increasing population of senior citizens, ElderHelp must expand its own financial resources. The concierge program will be one of the initiatives to generate a revenue stream that will enable ElderHelp to become sustainable and viable.

SDSVP will help its new Investee to develop and launch the ElderHelp Concierge Club, which will target seniors and their families who can afford to pay a membership fee for the services that low-income older individuals will continue to receive for free.

Marchese explained that every two paid Concierge Club memberships will provide the income that will enable ElderHelp to provide the same services, but at no cost, to one low-income senior citizen.

In addition to refining a business plan, SDSVP will assist ElderHelp with creating and implementing a web-based information tracking system that will integrate all components and functions for the organization.
Partners also will help ElderHelp to develop and execute a marketing plan to recruit and retain 150 volunteers, each of whom will commit to 6 hours per week for one year.
A system for evaluating ElderHelp’s outcomes against revenue and volunteer and membership retention measures will be devised, so that the organization’s impact on San Diego can be clearly communicated.