Help make someone's life happier and just a little bit easier. Become a Friendly Visitor to a homebound senior through WEME Mainstream Nutrition and Health Center, a meals-on-wheels agency delivering warm, nutritious meals to approximately 500 frail homebound elderly on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Our mission is to enhance the quality of life of our homebound seniors and to help them to remain in their apartments rather than move into institutional settings. All of our seniors live on the Upper West Side.

All it takes is about two hours a week. We usually ask for a minimum commitment of 6 months.

Volunteers offer companionship and generally assist with practical tasks such as reading to the visually impaired; escorting a senior outside; errands and light shopping; teaching basic computer skills; and help with sorting and organizing papers.

The following seniors would greatly welcome a volunteer (and hopefully there will be a few more):

1) Male client, lives in the West 60's; almost completely homebound; would be very grateful for a male or female volunteer who could help him in a variety of ways: some conversation, shopping and light errands; perhaps doing some Xeroxing; client is interested in poetry, photography, current events, sports, would be interested in learning Adobe Photoshop and related computer programs; flexible; daytime, early evenings (Monday and Tuesday are best) and possibly weekends

2) Female client, lives in West 70's, has a cat (but not one who jumps!), who would very much welcome a male or female volunteer to spend time in conversation and companionship; she is a spiritual person with an interest in astrology, holistic/alternative medicine, the occult, inspiring spiritual teachers such as Joel Osteen, Marianne Williamson, Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer and Eric Butterworth; can be flexible to accommodate your schedule

3) Male client, lives in the West 90's; needs assistance with organizing papers and in learning about computers in general, and especially the Internet; was in the Navy and worked for the Board of Education; has general interests; evenings and weekends are best; male volunteer strongly preferred; NEED TO BE COMFORTABLE AROUND CIGARETTE SMOKE.

4) Female client, lives in West 70's, had been a nurse; is also interested in the arts, especially classical music, opera and art and news; would welcome a female volunteer to do some shopping for her once a week or every two weeks; availability on Saturdays or Sundays, for an hour or two

5) Female client, lives in the West 70's, is visually impaired and would welcome a female volunteer to read a variety of papers to her and help organize them, and also help her with some light shopping for about 2 hours a week; she has a strong background in classical music and singing and also worked in the medical field; weekdays are best.

6) Client, lives in the West 70's; has two small dogs (are wonderfully playful and friendly); she would welcome a female or male volunteer to spend time with her in conversation, helping her with organizing papers, and also walking with her when she walks the dogs; she is extremely interested in dance, theater, different cultures, and has worked in the entertainment field, flexible schedule

7) Married seniors, live in the West 90's, have a cat; both are visually impaired and would be very pleased to have a male or female volunteer to read their mail, read articles (for example, about world affairs, things that are happening in NYC, show business and current trends); perhaps help with some errands; available Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons from 1 PM on; Saturdays and Sundays are flexible, and also most early evenings

If working with seniors is something that you have been thinking of doing, why not this fall! Please contact Beth Mandelbaum, WEME's Coordinator of Volunteers, at (212) 874-3750, ext. 16, or by e-mail (this works best): bethatweme@yahoo.com

WE REALIZE THAT THE HOLIDAYS ARE A VERY BUSY TIME FOR MANY, AND WHILE WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO INTERVIEW YOU BEFORE THEM, WE GREATLY WELCOME YOUR APPLICATION AT ANY TIME.

• desire to work with the elderly; caring, patience, enjoys meeting new people; willingness to keep track of and report hours