ElderHelpers.org

I did not do my research and really regret it. I was so blinded by my excitement about having the opportunity to assist elders, that I ignored the red flags all over the place.:(
First off, they tell you that you need to like their facebook page before filling out the form "We let our volunteers know about opportunities through our facebook page so you need to like the facebook page to volunteer!"This would be no problem if they actually contacted you through their facebook. I honestly feel like this statement may be a flat-out lie, since they tell you that you need to print out their flyers and post them everywhere in order to get someone to contact you (if no one has).
After giving them your personal information and creating a volunteer account, they tell you that you need to donate $50 (minimum) in order to get a free volunteer handbook (this is also in their tips on how to be the best volunteer), you have to contribute! This felt totally sketchy. Any good organization would give their volunteers a handbook and/or training for free, especially with knowing and respecting the value of their time and that not every volunteer has extra money to throw around. I was naive enough to do it (thinking I was also helping support a good organization). When you go to donate it says that your donating is going to the "Campaign for Aging Research." Sounds like a great cause, right? It certainly made me feel better after I made the donation. After doing a tiny bit of digging, the Campaign for Aging Research is just a glorified name for Elderhelpers.org (also under the domain name HealthyYears.org)... Is there an actual campaign for research going on here? After making my donation I did not receive my volunteer training e-book as promised, so I contacted elderhelpers via e-mail to let them know. I was promptly contacted by Mary (apparently the only person who works for them?), who told me I needed to contact Crowdrise (the site they use to create their fundraiser--which is actually a good website with my experience), to get my handbook. Weird?
One thing I did appreciate was that they promote getting a background check, but it's not required, which sounds potentially dangerous. There didn't seem to be any other screening done through the site, so how can elders ensured that they are going to be safe?
To make this long story a tad bit shorter--after going back and actually doing my research (and reading other volunteer/users reviews and feedback), I decided that I just wanted to delete my account. Of course it turns out that you can't even delete your volunteer account either. All they allow you to do is make yourself unavailable so that people won't contact you. Awesome. I've never come across so many weird and sketchy issues from a supposedly reputable organization. Even if they are real and do want to help others, I suggest they change the way they run things.

Elderhelpers.org disregards its own motto: trust promise generosity honor truth dependable respect responsive integrity ethics. I was charged $49 in September 2012 to locate "volunteers" to help me care for my 85 year old mother and eventually for me. The one volunteer that I managed toconnect with through Elderhelpers.org provided absolutely no assistance. When she arrived at my home, she sat down to discuss the type of assistance that we need and then proceeded to tell us how much she charged.

I discovered in December that the $49 charge was a recurring quarterly charge. I contacted the bank and Elderhelpers.org and explained that I had only used the service once and the reason why I would not continue to use the service. The gentleman I spoke with and communicated via email promised to refund the $49 charge and cancel my account. He refunded the charge which was posted to my credit card account on January 7,2013. Since he did indeed refund the charge and he had promised to cancel my account, I archived and deleted the emails. I discovered this weekend a pending charge for $49 from Elderhelpers.org on my Bank of America account. And to make matters worse, I pulled up all the electronic statements from BOA for 2013 and discovered charges for $49 had been posted to my account on March 16,2013 and June 17,2013.

I was beyond anger when I discovered that Elderhelpers.org had continued charging my credit card account despite the fact that I had been assured that my account was closed and that no further charges would occur. The phone number provided by BOA and which appears on the Elderhelpers.org website *******734 accepts only voice-mail. So far, my voice-mail messages have not been returned, but they did respond to my emails with request that I provide them with the emails from last December. Not only is this an inconvenience but an insult since they are questioning my word. They are a business, which I can only assume, would have in place easy access to their email traffic. They certainly have disrespect me by questioning my integrity and honesty. The fact that they refunded the charge made last December should be proof enough of my previous contact.

I give Elderhelpers.org only one star since they were responsive in December 2012 and promptly refunded the $49 charge. But they have failed miserably to live up to their own motto as shown on their website. My advice to anyone--especially another elderly individual--to avoid this company. They will only take your money again and again. My last resort is to request Bank of America to change my account number. My advice to anyone--especially other elderly individuals--is avoid this website.