Outside speech

A Helping Hand Kindness is the most important virtue that defines us as human beings. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “ The purpose of life is not to seek happiness. Rather, the purpose of life is to be honourable, compassionate and useful. That is, to have this virtues make some difference in our lives, knowing that you have lived and lived well.” The current society is bombarded with a plethora of challenges, modern diseases and crimes in schools including health care. However, as the society progresses, the elderly are airbrushed out of the picture and left to face the challenges of old age alone. Through the Elder Helpers volunteer organization, volunteers can do what the government cannot do. That is, to show kindness to a society that has done its part in building the nation.
The elderly face a series of emotional, physical and societal problems. Physically, aging is the deterioration of the physical and mental mechanisms (Edward 533). Inevitably, the body becomes vulnerable to innumerable diseases and conditions such as Alzheimer’s. This deterioration of health has resulted in the elderly being identified as the handicapped, particularly in capitalist societies (Edward 533). Moreover, the challenges are made difficult by the high cost of medication and therapies resulting in a majority of the aging population living with the lack of proper health care. Currently, the elderly live solitary lives where they can go for days without communicating with other individuals. Some elders have also lost their spouses which results in emotional problems. Inevitably, the isolated life coupled with the physical challenges makes the elderly vulnerable to unhealthy lives that would most likely lead to more complications or even death.
At this point, I know there are some who are wondering why we should help the elderly members in our society. Such people need to acknowledge the fact that aging is a definite event that occurs in the life of every individual. Soon, each and every one of us may live long enough to experience the complications that arise through aging. At that point in our lives, I am certain we would all be grateful if the society helped us go through aging stress-free. Furthermore, the elderly in our society are important because, without them, the current generation would not exist.
Elderly Helpers is an opportunity to interact with the elderly in the society and assist them in their day to day lives (elderlyhelpers. org). Moreover, the organization is an opportunity for young members in the society to provide emotional support to the elderly, assist in carrying out chores and ensure that the elderly are living healthy lives. As a member of this organization, I have experienced the joy of offering compassion to an elder in the society. I managed to forge a friendship with an elderly widow who was struggling with Alzheimer’s. Though our friendship, I was able to learn a lot from her. At the same time, I was able to help her recover from suicidal thoughts that are often common amongst the elderly in the society (Sorenson 1109).
That being said, I welcome the new volunteers into the programme. Through this programme, we are able to ensure that the elders in the society receive the much-needed care that is detrimental to their health. Currently, the elderly constitute 65% of the population, with researchers predicting that the figure is likely to grow in the future (U. S. Census 2011). How we handle these vulnerable members in the society will determine how the future generation will handle us during our time of need.
Cote J. M. “ Professional Speaking” North Eastern University Lecture Notes (2015) web.
Edwards, Ryan D. ” Population aging, the dependency burden, and challenges facing preventive medicine” Preventive medicine 55. 6 (2012): 533-534.
Elderly Helpers “ Volunteers” Campaign for Aging Research (2015) Web. 7th June 2015 Elderlyhelpers. org
Sorenson, S. Suicide among the elderly: issues facing public health. American Journal of Public Health, 81(9), (2009): 1109-1110
U. S. Census Bureau Sixty-Five Plus in the United States Economics and Statistics Administration (2015) Web 7th June 2015