PLYMOUTH, Minn. — So far this winter, work as a volunteer snow shoveler has been a breeze.
"It's been very simple," said Jeff Larsen, who spent a few minutes shoveling about an inch of light snow at a neighbor's home in Plymouth. "I'm actually not supposed to do it unless it's more than like 2 inches, but I don't want her to slip."
Larsen started volunteering to clear snow last winter. In the midst of record snowfall, Senior Community Services began reaching out in search of both volunteer and paid positions to help meet demand from seniors who were living at home but unable to keep up with clearing their driveways and sidewalks.
This winter, the snow has been slow to fall, but demand keeps piling up.
"People are asking for help, so it's a good thing to do," Larsen said.
Following an early snow scare on Halloween, Senior Community Services told KARE 11 that the waitlist for snow removal had grown to more than 200 seniors, and they made the difficult decision to stop taking new requests until they could find more people to help.
"We have need all across Hennepin County," Jon Burkhow told KARE 11 in October. "So if you live in Bloomington or Minneapolis, we have an older adult in your city for sure, maybe not that far from your home, so usually people don't have to drive very far."
Following that initial story, that more than 50 new people have signed up to either volunteer or shovel driveways for about $20 per hour.
"I think a lot of people don't know about us, so it's great to get the word out there," Burkhow said. "I think when they hear about it, they're like, 'Oh yeah, I can help out in my community. I can help an older person who can't shovel on their own anymore."
Though he's grateful for the response, he says there are still at least 150 seniors on that waitlist with winter really beginning to set in.
"We've still got two or three months of winter left probably," Burkhow said. "Sometimes it snows into April, and a lot of our volunteers — once they make that connection — they'll come back for the next winter, too."
Larsen says his decision to come back for another season was even easier than the shoveling so far.
"For me, it's somewhat selfish," Larsen said. "I actually feel really good when I help her out, so... it's a nice feeling."
It's an even better feeling for Susan Stoll, the neighbor he helps.
"It's just an outstanding program, and he's such a nice guy," Stoll said. "Even if it's just a little snow, he wants to shovel it because he wants to stay on top of it.
"He's really become a friend. He's sort of my winter angel. He watches over me."
For more information on how to volunteer or work as paid shoveler through Senior Community Services, click here.
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