Cheshire Village at Home

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Cheshire Village at Home is a membership organization for people over 50, providing you with a single point of access to a network of trained volunteers. Once you join us, one call sets you up with a ride, help at home, social visits, or wellness calls as often as you want. We also hold free social events such as coffees, ice cream socials, and presentations by local experts.

Cheshire Village at Home is an entirely local program, serving western Cheshire County, and we are not a real estate development nor a retirement community.

For an annual fee of $400 per household*, one phone call provides access to those services which often cause seniors to leave their homes for a more restrictive setting. As a program of the Keene Senior Center, the annual fee for Cheshire Village at Home includes a membership to the Keene Senior Center.

Enrollment is ongoing for anyone who expects to need services shortly, or for those who simply want to support this program to ensure it will be available when needed. Download our application form here.

• give rides within western Cheshire County for medical appointments, grocery shopping, social visits, or any other reason
• help you with occasional minor chores in your home such as changing hard to reach batteries and light bulbs, repairing a loose door handle, or even flipping your mattress!
• make check-in or social calls to you on a daily, weekly, or other basis.

The following are some examples of tasks that we do for our members:

• Accompany you to a medical appointment and take notes
• Hang pictures or mirrors
• Fix/replace a hinge/door knob
• Lubricate door hinges
• Take down/put up a curtain rod/curtains
• Replace light bulbs (12 ft. max height)
• Replace furnace/ refrigerator/ AC filters
• Flip bed mattresses
• Set up TV/cable/garage remotes
• Change smoke alarm or remote-control batteries
• Help with computer issues
• Install PC software or new hardware (only when member is present to enter passwords)
• Program a thermostat
• Reset breakers or GFI…once
• Winterize a foundation (hay, plastic, etc.)
• Attach/remove window film for winter
• Pull down storm windows
• Lift heavy boxes
• Bring things down from attic using pulldown ladder (with second volunteer)
• Put up/bring down seasonal clothing
• Install shower head
• Replace toilet seat, toilet tank flapper, adjust tank water level
• Paint mailbox
• Replace a door screen
• Replace/repair doorbells
• Repair, tighten, bring in, or bring out a garden hose
• Bring in or take out patio furniture
• Repot houseplants
• Weed garden
• Install solar yard lights

Your $400 annual fee goes to pay expenses such as staff costs. We have 3 part-time employees who work a combined total of 50-60 hours a week performing office duties: answering phones, coordinating all of the service requests, calling members etc.   Other expenses include; technology costs; the software for the system and phone line costs for the system, office supplies like toner, paper, ink, and stamps, expenses for the socials we provide for our members, paying the bookkeeper who monitors our account, insurance, advertising events and printing brochures and more.

We have a lot of volunteers who provide services that are priceless to our organization and we could not provide the services without them.  If we had to pay for all of the rides, calls, and other services, the cost would be huge to our village members.