The SNAP (Senior Neighbor Assistance Project) organization helps elderly residents in Long Valley, NJ with outdoor chores like yard work that they have difficulty completing themselves. As part of SNAP, volunteers visit different elderly homes each week to perform services. The document describes enjoying seeing the happiness and gratitude from helping residents, and recounts a particular event where the author bonded with a woman named Ruth at an assisted living home and found the experience very impactful.

1. SNAP
Senior Neighbor Assistance Project

2. INFO
 This was an organization that was started by one of my best
friends in my town, Long Valley, NJ. After he had started it I instantly
joined and started to help.
 We would go to many elderly people’s homes and would help them
with chores outside there house such as: raking up leaves, cutting
grass, picking up sticks, mulching, picking out weeds and much more.
 Basically everything that they had struggles doing we did.

3. WHEN/WHERE
 We would go to a different elderly house once each week during all
different days of the week to do different choirs.
 We would also go to houses all over my town or towns
surrounding my town.
 We would come back and visit some of the same houses if they
needed more stuff done, but we tried to go all over and help anyone
in need.

4. WHAT I LOVE
 What I really loved most about helping the elderly people and
doing work around their house was their love they gave toward us for
helping.
 I also love the satisfaction I felt after helping someone with stuff
they had no ability to do.
 Also seeing their smiling faces of how happy they were that we
were helping made it even better and made me love helping that much
more.

5. RUTH
SNAP hosted an “Adopt a Senior Citizen”
community service event. It worked together
with the assisted living home. All the
members of SNAP, plus anyone else, was able
to come out that Saturday afternoon and take
a senior. During that day there was a ton of
free food, a band playing, a ton of shows, and
other fun activities to take your senior to.
During that event I totally fell in love with
Ruth and started to cry when we had to leave
her. She wasn’t “all there” but knew what was
going on. She finally opened up to us and told
us about her family she forgot about and how
badly they treated her at the facility. I felt
horrible and honestly didn’t want to leave
Ruth. It was truly a life changing event.

6. SUMMARY
 There were many other community service projects I had done but
SNAP was defiantly my favorite one I had ever done.
 It was great being able to work with your friends and at the same
time make someone's day and put a smile on their face.