​​Heart of the Valley
Services for Seniors

Our wonderful volunteer drivers use their own cars and gasoline to drive our clients within Santa Clara County. Volunteers drive seniors to medical and business appointments, to events, to the movies or a restaurant, to do shopping and errands, to a club meeting, to get their hair done, out to the cemetery, or to visit a sick friend in the hospital and even take pets to the groomers and to the vet. Please understand that we give priority to medical appointment requests. We ask that hair salon appointments be kept to once a month, if possible. For requests without a required date, such as shopping or errands, we look for a volunteer who will then call our client to arrange a date and time which works for both of them. We cannot take seniors to recurring appointments, such a physical therapy, chemotherapy, or daily to the senior center. Sorry but we cannot take our seniors to any appointments with surgical procedures or anesthesia, for the protection of our volunteers and seniors. When requesting shopping and errands, please limit each trip to business in the same area that would take no more than 2 hours to complete. If the places you wish to visit are on opposite sides of town, please make separate requests.

We have giving volunteers who love to help our seniors with light house projects. These might include cleaning out a closet, cupboard, or refrigerator; organizing a yarn collection or books; help with hobby or craft projects, and one-time cleaning projects. Please understand that these projects are typical done by a single volunteer. Depending on the size of the project may take multiple requests to complete. A service may be up to two hours of help — recognizing that our volunteers have other obligations too! Sorry we do not have currently have volunteers who help with housekeeping, such as vacuuming. If you are unsure if we can help with your request, please call us at (408) 241-1571 with the details!

We have volunteers who love to work in the yard and assist our seniors with light yard work. Our volunteers can help with mowing small lawns, pulling weeds, cleanup a patio, help with bush and hedge trimming, help with gardens and flowers, raking, and yard cleanup. These service are available to homeowners. Seniors in apartments should recieve help from their landlord if it is part of their rental agreement. Our senior clients are responsible for supplying any tools or plants, our volunteers supply the labor. If the job is too big for our volunteer to handle, it may take multiple requests to complete or you may be directed to contact our office for a for–pay referral to someone who might be better able to help. Please help us understand the size of the job when making the request. A request is typically handle by a single volunteer working up to 2 hours at a time.

We have volunteers who love to work with their hands and have a knack for fixing things Our volunteers can help with leaky faucets, squeaky doors, toilets that don't flush well, broken outdoor gates, and other light handyman services. These service are available to homeowners. For Seniors in apartments, most should recieve help from their landlord if it is part of their rental agreement. If the job is too big for our volunteer to handle, it may take multiple requests to complete or you may be directed to contact our office for a for–pay referral to someone who might be better able to help. Please help us understand the size of the job when making the request. A request is typically handle by a single volunteer working up to 2 hours at a time.

We have volunteers who love to organize papers and enjoy helping our seniors with their correspondence. We also have volunteers who help by reading mail, books, and newspapers to our visually impaired clients. Seniors requesting help with paperwork might receive help organizing paperwork, help filling out forms, and help writing and mailing cards, letters, or bills. Seniors cannot pick the exact date and time of this type of service. Instead the volunteer assigned to help them will call them to determine a date and time with works for both volunteer and client. A request is typically handled by a single volunteer working up to 2 hours at a time. If the job is too big for our volunteer to handle in one visit, it may take multiple requests to complete. Please understand that you might not get the same volunteer for the next request. Please help us understand the size of the job when making the request.

We have volunteers who love using computers and other technology, and want to help our seniors learn to use technology too! Our volunteers can help our senior clients learn computer basics, setup, and navigation. Volunteers can also help seniors learn to use cameras, TV remotes, cellphones, alarm clocks, and more! Please provide us as much information as possible on the computer/device for which help is needed, such as type of computer, Mac/PC running what operating system or software. If you don’t know that’s okay! Seniors cannot pick the exact date and time of this type of service. Instead the volunteer assigned to help them will call them to determine a date and time with works for both volunteer and client. A request is typically handled by a single volunteer helping for up to 2 hours at a time. If one visit isn’t enough, please call our office and make another request. Please understand that you might not get the same volunteer for the next request.

We provide a visitation service for our seniors who may feel lonely and isolated at home. Volunteers can be a “Friendly Caller” to visit with seniors over the phone. Our volunteers also provide seniors with in–home visits or walks around the neighborhood. For seniors who likes furry friends, we can arrange vists by pets coordinated with HSSV. Seniors cannot pick the exact date and time of this type of service. Instead the volunteer assigned to help them will call them to determine a date and time with works for both volunteer and client. A request is typically handled by a single volunteer helping for up to 2 hours at a time. If one visit isn’t enough, please call our office and make another request. Please understand that you might not get the same volunteer for the next request.

Our compassionate volunteers provide seniors with an In–A–Pinch Services for unforseen or immediate needs. We help within 24–48 hours. Volunteers help with rides to urgent doctor appointments, help getting critical medications, fix a light bulb out in a critical location, help with sick pets, help with immediately needed repair services, and essential technology needs. Sorry — this is not an emergency service. If it is an emergency please call 911 immediately! Request are not guaranteed to be filled, but every effort is made to help.

We have trained volunteers ready to help our seniors with Household Hazardous Waste (HHW). Volunteers can help identify HHW through in home inspections. Then at the request of our clients, volunteers can pick up HHW, such as paint cans, batteries, pesticides, and cleaning products from our clients homes and take them to the proper disposal sites. Please note that HHW pickup and disposal is done in batches once or twice a month depending on available volunteers. Please help us understand what types of HHW and how much needs to be disposed of when making the request. to ensure adequate space in the volunteers vehicle. For HHW disposal, the assigned volunteer will call to arrange a date/time for pickup. Please ensure that you will be home to help identify what needs to be taken

Our volunteers help seniors properly dispose of used, expired, or unwanted prescriptions or over the counter medications through our 5D (Don’t Dump Drugs Down Drains) service. If our seniors have friends or family who can drive them to a 5D drop–off location, we can provide them with the address of one near their home. If our seniors need escorted transportation to a drop-off location, they can make a 5D service request and to have a volunteer take them with their unwanted drugs to a nearby drop–off location. For seniors who cannot leave their home, we can help them properly dispose of their medications at home through “Meds Away”, a product which chemically renders the drugs harmless and able to be disposed of in your normal trash. For detailed information on disposing of medical waste, please click here. For example, remove any pills from their original containers and put them in a sealable bag (e.g. ziploc bag). Remove or black out your name and address on the original container and recycle them, if possible. Liquids or creams may be left in their original containers, but your remove your name and address. There are special rules for disposing of sharps (e.g. needles, syringes, and lancets), please see the information below. The link above has information regarding: 5D drop–off locations in Santa Clara County How to properly dispose of sharps Disposal locations of sharps in Santa Clara Count When calling to request transportation to a drop–off site, please give the volunteer an idea of amount to be disposed (e.g. how many ziploc bags).

Our animal loving volunteers are available to help seniors care for their pets. They can help by taking seniors and their pets to vet appointments, groomers, or boarding facilities. Please let us know what kind of pets you have, as some of our volunteers are allergic to certain pet dander. We will try our best to find a volunteer to help, but a request is not a guarantee of service. Sorry we cannot walk your dog because that would be a recurring service which we unfortunately cannot provide.