Adam and Sharon are generations apart but have built a meaningful relationship through DOROT’s Friendly Visiting program.
On Wednesday mornings, 32-year-old Adam Zeelens knows he’s going to have a strong cup of coffee. When he arrives at the Upper West Side home of Sharon Ludlow, 87, the percolator is already prepped on the stove. “We always start our time together in the kitchen, listening to the gurgling of the percolator and smelling the strong brew,” says Adam, a TV producer in Manhattan who met Sharon in November 2023 when he began volunteering as a DOROT Friendly Visitor.
Through Friendly Visiting, volunteers visit older adults in their homes on a weekly or monthly basis. Carefully matched by DOROT social workers, the pairs often build relationships that can last for years.
“I’ve formed a deep and meaningful friendship with Sharon,” says Adam. “Our weekly visits are filled with laughs, conversation, and forming new memories together.” Not only do Sharon and Adam bond over coffee beans, but books, too. “Our different interests create a stimulating conversation,” says Adam.
Sharon, who moved to New York a few years ago to be near her children, was raised in Oregon and worked for years at the Portland Public Library before retiring in 1997. She’s become knowledgeable in Reiki and other therapeutic teachings that she now enjoys sharing with Adam.
Sharon also loves hearing about Adam’s job and his overseas travel, and she appreciates how he can restore her positive outlook when the going gets tough. “He’s nice, honest, open, not vain. He’s just been there.”
Ready To Build a New Friendship?
Email us at friendlyvisits@dorotusa.org to learn how you can welcome a Friendly Visiting volunteer to your home.
This story originally appeared in the January 2025 issue of Connections. Click below to read the full issue: