BY MALLORIE MCCOY
FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — Village Friends is a nonprofit organization that provides support to adults over 65 in the Auburn-Opelika community who desire to remain independent in their own homes for as long as possible.
Brittany Branyon, executive director of Village Friends since October 2024, said the organization refers to this notion as “aging in place.” Village Friends is a group of volunteers who offer a variety of services to promote aging in place, such as transportation, lawn care, home maintenance and technology literacy.
“Our volunteers drove over 9,000 miles in 2024, [including] 500 medical appointments in one year alone,” said Branyon. “That just shows how important the transportation aspect of what we do is.”
Another goal of Village Friends is to provide companionship to older adults. Once a month, the group hosts Wednesday lunch at Chappie’s Deli, a dinner gathering at varying local restaurants and other social events.
“We are collaborating with the Lee County Literacy Coalition to offer digital literacy courses to older adults in our community, and that’ll focus on anything from how to send a text message or how to check a voice mail,” Branyon said. “Also, how to surf the web or how to avoid scams online or through text messages.”
The next digital literacy event will be held on Tuesday, June 10, at 2 p.m. at the Lee County Literacy Coalition center, 505 W. Thomason Circle in Opelika. This event will cover the basics, such as smartphone use, texting, how to receive voicemails and internet safety.
The concept for Village Friends was first introduced in 2011 at an Osher Life Learning Institute course, also known as an “OLLI” course, at Auburn University. These courses cater to retirees ages 65 and older that want to participate in lifelong learning through mini college courses.
Founders Joanna Hoit and Mary Burkhart gave a presentation called “Village Friends, Village Values” at the OLLI course to show how the elderly community in the Auburn-Opelika area can support one another through later life transitions. Following the course, the first advisory committee was formed, and an initial organization infrastructure was established.
“We don’t really have the villages that we once had, because a lot of us move away for different opportunities,” said Branyon. “So, those who are especially vulnerable are the older population, as they age or the aging population. It focuses on how we can support one another.”
In 2014, VFVV’s application was approved to become a federal nonprofit organization. Following, a new executive team was elected and began providing services to paying members. The organization shortened their name in 2018 to “Village Friends,” along with making branding updates.
Anyone interested in joining can start their membership application process by calling (334) 870-8687 or emailing AOVillageSeniors@gmail.com.
“Once they call, we do a phone call screener just to see if they’re still interested and what their mobility looks like, their needs and that type of thing,” said Bryon. “Then we do the in person where we call it an intake. After that, there’s no other process that they need to go through. The intake simply expands on what we did in the original screener plus asking their emergency contact, where they typically go, and their needs.”
Village Friends requires an annual fee, every 12 months, that goes towards paying Branyon and Services Coordinator, Rebecca O’Kelly, along with financing office needs and a software system that is essential to the program. The software system aids O’Kelly in partnering a Village Friend member with a volunteer to help with the members’ needs.
Requirements to become a VF member include residing within Auburn or Opelika city limits and being age 65 and above.
However, the organization would not be able to exist without its volunteers. If interested in becoming a volunteer, one can find the application process on the Village Friends website at Village-Friends.org or email volunteer@village-friends.org.
“We get a background check, just a criminal background check, to make sure there’s no gaps there. We also have a liability waiver that folks sign, and then an application that tells us their emergency contact, what they prefer, and what their interests are,” said Branyon. “Then once we go through that, it takes a couple of weeks to get them fully vetted, and then they are on the email list where they learn about opportunities to help every day.”
Volunteers help fulfill members’ needs by driving, performing basic lawn care, troubleshooting technology issues, and helping with home maintenance such as changing lightbulbs and batteries.
“There’s no time like now for folks to get involved, and they can personally reach out to me, or give us a call or email our volunteer line, whatever they want do,” said Branyon. “We’re open to, any ideas that folks have on how they can collaborate with us.”
