Somerset County Mom Opens Senior Care Business In Honor Of Late Husband's Dream

SOMERSET COUNTY, NJ — Helping others and positively impacting the community was a dream North Plainfield mother of two, Renee Donald, once shared with her late husband.

After she lost her husband to COVID in 2020, Donald decided to honor his memory by opening a new franchise location of Seniors Helping Seniors in-home care in Watchung this past summer.

"My husband was a volunteer EMT, then he went on to become a hyperbaric technician. It was something that we always talked about. How can we impact our community and help?" said Donald. "I realized when he passed, I had so many of his clients, who were seniors, and they had so many amazing things to say about how he impacted their lives. So I was like, this is something that I want to do in his memory to impact our community and help the seniors."

The new Seniors Helping Seniors in-home care location serves Watchung, Plainfield, Westfield, North Plainfield, Mountainside, Clark, Rahway, Berkeley Heights, New Providence, Summit, and Warren.

Donald and her caregivers help seniors with meal prep, companionship, doctor's appointments, and transportation.

"There are some seniors who just want to play board games, take walks around the park, they are just looking for engagement or just to be seen overall," said Donald.

The demand for in-home care for mature populations continues to grow, with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reporting that nearly 70 percent of retirees will require some form of long-term care.

Many of Donald's caregivers are active seniors themselves, creating bonds through shared life experiences, a hallmark of the Seniors Helping Seniors model.

Donald noted that she met one amazing caregiver who is a 77-year-old retired North Plainfield teacher who said, "I would love to read to seniors and give back to seniors."

"Just knowing that, me at this age of 47, and talking to her at 77, that she still has it in her to want to impact other seniors was very impactful for me, and I felt like I'm on the right road. It made me feel like I'm doing the right thing," said Donald.

She added that the retired teacher told Donald that she was so happy that Donald wanted to help seniors, "because they're not heard, they're not seen now, like they're pushed to the side, because they're aging."

For more information on Seniors Helping Seniors in-home care, visit seniorshelpingseniors.com.