Taking out the shovel and clearing the driveway can become a real drag in the winter, but for some seniors it's a chore they simply can't complete.
That's why the Prince George Council of Seniors organizes a shovelling service every winter to connect volunteers with people who need to have driveways or walkways cleared. Upwards of 50 clients have been using the service this year, although the exact number of requests varies with each snowfall.
Council of seniors administrator Glenda Brommeland said ideally she would like to nearly double the number of volunteers from 11 to 20 so that everyone's driveway could be cleared quickly and reduce the workload for the current group.
"It would be wonderful because then people could trade off," she said. "Snow shovelling can be hard."
Brommeland said in the past a school group had volunteered to help with the shovelling, which was a great benefit to the society but that vein of volunteers has dried up in recent years.
Many of the clients are regulars, but every so often a new person calls up to request the service including some coming via referrals from community groups. Although demand remains strong, Brommeland has noticed some of those who often used the service in the past haven't been calling up to have their walks cleared this year. She suspects it's because friends, family or neighbours are picking up the slack.
The service doesn't include roofs due to liability issues and she said those requesting snow removal must have a reasonably sized driveway so not to overtax the volunteers.
Anyone interested in volunteering can call the council of seniors at 250-564-5888 to sign up. Having a shovel and a vehicle is preferred as the snow removal locations are all around the city. Brommeland said volunteers are usually called on about once a week - although it can be more often if there's a large dump of snow.
"We would be easy on them," Brommeland said of any new recruits.
