The Village of Takoma Park offers or collaborates on the following services/programs:
- Transportation
The VillageRides program pairs volunteer drivers with neighbors who need help getting to medical appointments, grocery shopping, religious services, social events, etc.
To request a ride, you must first be a member of the Village of Takoma Park. Once you are a member please call 301-646-2109 to register and receive more information about the ride service, and then to request a ride once registered.
Volunteer drivers will accept the ride request based on the driver's availability. Drivers call the rider when they accept the ride request and again the day before the appointment
To volunteer to drive, call 301-646-2109 or email sandyeganretired@gmail.com.
Take a look at a short video promoting this service. Produced by Jewish Council on the Aging, it "stars" two of our members AND a Village of TP car. Note: members in need of a ride should call 301-646-2109, NOT the number mentioned in the video.
Note that during the initial phase of the pandemic, we gave rides only for medical appointments and to grocery or drugstores. As of December 2021, we have resumed full service.
- Friendly Visitor Program
This program provides a weekly contact to call or visit residents who aren't able to get out as often as they would like. Village membership is required. Call 301-424-0656 Ext.507. The in-person Friendly Visitor program is suspended during the pandemic, but Village volunteers will make regular phone calls to members requesting them.
- Aging Well and other events
The Village hosts events once or more often per month, usually information sessions around a particular topic and with refreshments and time for socializing. A wide variety of programs is offered. Examples of past topics include health and wellness, legal documents, finances and money management, scams and frauds, storytelling, and caregiving. We also offer social, cultural, and educational events. Watch the calendar for more information. Village membership not required, unless otherwise specified. Note that during the pandemic, all programs are virtual, via zoom.
- Senior Stroll
Are you a Village of Takoma Park member who would like to get out for a stroll a couple of times a week, but would like someone to walk with you? If you are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, we will match you with a Village volunteer (also fully vaccinated) to go walking with you. Please contact sandyeganretired@gmail.com or call 301-646-2109.
- Errands
If you have stopped driving, can no longer get around easily, and need something that you (or a friend or family member) are unable to order online or from a delivery service, we will do it for you. You may, for example, need to pick up a prescription, a package at the post office, or dry cleaning. Call the Village at 301-646-2109 and let us know what you need. We will try to fill all requests within three days, sooner if there's an emergency.
If the volunteer doing the errand needs to pay for something, we will ask you to reimburse by cash or check at the time of delivery. Note that for insurance reasons, errands are done by volunteers alone; not in a car with the member requesting the errand.
- Small Home Repairs/Tasks/Technology Help: The Village of Takoma Park has a team of volunteers who are ready and willing to do small home repairs and tasks around the house for members who have no other access to help for minor repairs or chores such as moving furniture and replacing high light bulbs. We also have volunteers able to help with basic technology issues. If you are a Village member in need of help, call 301-646-2109. Volunteers will contact you to arrange an evaluation of the job and to determine if it can be done by one of our volunteers.
The member bears cost for all materials needed for small home repairs. No warranty of materials or workmanship is expressed or implied. Here are some examples of the kinds of small home repair services that Village volunteers may be able to perform.
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Safety and Security
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Repair broken window and exterior door locks; hang window drapes, shades, or blinds; check smoke detectors; change ceiling light bulbs; fix loose handrails; install handrails and grab bars; repair loose stair treads or carpeting; install/repair house numbers; trim vegetation to make house numbers visible
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Small Household Tasks
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Repair loose or sticking doors, gate latches, small holes in walls, floors, and ceilings; hang pictures; replace faucet washers and toilet valves; clean and balance ceiling fans; apply limited caulking to weatherproof
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| Technology Help |
Printing a document; cell phone help/tips; hooking up to wifi; searching the internet, etc. |
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HELP WITH APPLICATIONS FOR LARGER HOME IMPROVEMENTS
We can help income-qualified members apply for home improvements, accessibility modifications, and repairs through Rebuilding Montgomery or Habitat for Humanity, both parts of the Lifelong Homes Coalition. When a Village team is unable to perform a repair or a major task, a homeowner who meets certain income requirements will receive an application form that goes to Rebuilding Together Montgomery County, a non-profit organization that works with community volunteers to provide free home repair and accessibilities modification to help low income homeowners to live safely and independently in their homes. These repairs may include minor plumbing and electrical work; roofing, floor, and ceiling repair; interior and exterior painting; installation of grab bars; and building of ramps. Note that due to the pandemic, we have been doing tasks outside the home only. As of June 2021, we will come into the home IF we have a volunteer who is vaccinated and willing to do so.
- Support Groups: one for residents with neuromuscular disorders (Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis) and their caretakers; and a second for parents of adults with special needs. Contact the Village at 301-646-2109 by email at villageoftp@gmail.com. Village membership not required.
- Walking Group
Like to walk? No need to register in advance – just show up in your walking shoes. Scheduled walks are posted on our website - Villageoftakomapark.com/calendar.
WHEN: monthly, date and time to be announced (see our calendar)
WHERE: Meet at the Takoma Park Community Center inside the front entrance on Maple Ave., for a walk on Sligo Creek.
LENGTH OF WALK: 1 hour
PACE: To be determined by walkers present
LEADER: Susan Rogers, 202-243-9230 or GJPgroup@yahoo.com (please call or email; do not text)
CANCELLATION POLICY: Walks will be cancelled when temperatures are below 35 degrees, or in case of inclement weather. Watch the Village website's calendar. If in doubt, contact Susan Rogers.
- Washington Consumers' Checkbook discounted subscription
Village of Takoma Park has partnered with Washington Consumers’ Checkbook to offer Village members a reduced rate subscription. Interested members can sign up at a discounted rate of $18 a year for online and print access, a $10 savings, by going to https://www.checkbook.org/TakomaPark or by using this order form.
Washington Consumers’ Checkbook is an independent, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that has been helping people in the Washington, D.C. metro area make smarter choices for more than 40 years. Checkbook surveys consumers and evaluates the quality and prices of local service providers and products, and reports these findings both online and in a magazine printed twice yearly. Checkbook also provides comprehensive advice to further help people save time, money, and hassle.
Unlike other ratings organizations, Checkbook carries no advertising on its websites nor in its publications nor accepts any referral fees from the companies and professionals it evaluates so there can be no question of bias. Checkbook is also supported entirely by subscription payments and donations from individual consumers who subscribe to its publications and website, and by fees for its survey and information services.