“It takes just one person to make a difference … Two to make friends,” reads the cover of the Phone Friends volunteer handbook.

Phone Friends is a program of Eastern Agency on Aging that links a volunteer, who is willing to make a regular phone visit, with an older person who is homebound or looking for a friend.

The call recipients are matched with a volunteer who lives in the same area and shares similar interests.

“I get so much out of talking to each person,” said Jessie Bidol, Phone Friends coordinator at Eastern Agency on Aging. “I learn something from each one and sometimes I’m even inspired by them.”

Anyone 18 years of age and older can be a phone friend, but most are seniors. The receivers of the calls must be at least 60.

Some volunteers are 80 to 90 years old and the oldest person receiving calls is 98, said Bidol.

Being a phone friend has few requirements. Of course, you must have a telephone, the time to chat and the willingness to commit to a weekly call. The call times are mutually agreed upon between the volunteer and the recipient, and everything said during the calls is strictly confidential.

Volunteers have training opportunities that focus on learning communication skills such as asking open-ended questions, encouraging conversation, and active listening.

Active listening, Bidol explains, is “identifying feelings and summarizing what you have heard.” Such listening can help the volunteer understand and clarify what the friend is saying, she adds. It takes a little more effort to “read” a person over the phone, because facial expressions and body language are unseen.

“The callers must have compassion,” said Bidol. “And a sense of humor helps.”

This program can be perfect for individuals who would like to volunteer their time but have health problems and are virtually homebound themselves, said Bidol. “Many of my volunteers have illnesses or a disability but they keep on keeping on. They really are amazing.”

Louise Hodgins, 59, has been a phone friend for about two years. She has emphysema and asthma, and rarely leaves her house.

“Eastern Agency was very good to my parents, and I wanted to give back a little,” she said. “I have always been a person who thought the purpose of life is to serve.”

Being on oxygen 24 hours a day can be restrictive, but she still wants to volunteer her time to something worthwhile.

The Phone Friends program works for her, she said, because she can do it at home.

“And, I love to talk,” she said with a laugh.

“I really enjoy my friendship with Mary and would miss her if we didn’t chat.”

Her Phone Friend recipient, Mary Sickles, 83, agrees.

“I really look forward to talking with Louise,” she said. “She calls every Thursday and she has never slipped. I like someone with a sense of humor. This is a good match. She’s a good kid.”

The calls last about a half-hour and according to both women, the time flies. They have a lot in common – not the least of which is the love of cats. They each have one and discuss them regularly.

While each considers the other a close friend, they have never met. Volunteers and recipients meeting is not forbidden, but is discouraged.

“This is really a phone program and we like to keep it that way if possible,” said Bidol. “Some volunteers and recipients have elected to meet and do things together such as shopping or having lunch. And that’s fine, but it is not a part of the program.”

Sometimes, however, they meet by accident. One woman went to her doctor’s office and overheard a couple of ladies talking.

“I know that voice,” she exclaimed and hurriedly asked the woman’s name. She was pleasantly surprised to meet her phone friend face to face.

Bidol is quick to explain that this is not a counseling or “checking in” service. It is purely a friendship service. “Our goal is to provide a friend for an older person who may be lonely while helping someone feel useful by volunteering,” she said. “It is just a way to keep the elderly connected and not isolated.

Carol Higgins is director of communications at Eastern Agency on Aging. If you are interested in having a phone friend or in volunteering, call Jessie Bidol at 941-2865. For more information on the agency, log onto the Web site at www.eaaa.org.