Seniors Helping Seniors(R) In-Home Services Franchise Establishes Latest Franchise in Larimer County, Colorado serving Fort Collins, Loveland, and Est

By: Seniors Helping Seniors | 1,014 Shares 245 Reads

April 05, 2010 // Franchising.com // Wyomissing Hills, Pa – To help meet the growing demand of older adults in Colorado who want to remain in their own homes and stay as self- sufficient as possible, Seniors Helping Seniors® in-home services has established a franchise, the second in the state of Colorado to serve Larimer County.

Seniors Helping Seniors in-home services offer loving, caring, compassionate non-medical services for seniors by seniors to help them live with dignity and respect and remain independent. Seniors Helping Seniors Providers are matched with senior Receivers. They provide services, such as: companionship, transportation, meal preparation, personal care, overnight stays and handyman services among others. Providers are seniors with the heart of a volunteer, but are compensated for their time.

Linda Gabel launches the newest Seniors Helping Seniors office out of her desire to "give back" to others while continuing to support herself. Linda says, "SHS immediately caught my interest because of its mission to provide a network of supportive, compassionate care givers who treat the elderly with dignity and respect when family members cannot be there". This is personal for Linda as her own mother lives in another state and her inability to find trustworthy, compassionate care forced her mother to leave her home of 45 years.

Linda was born in Peoria, Il. She has one daughter, Amelia Emerling and two step children, Lisa Hendy and Michael Hendy. In addition, she has two granddaughters, Karis and Seiyia. Her hobbies and pastimes include hiking, biking, reading, cooking, movies, and she says," I actually like working out in the gym!"

Linda's nearly 25 year background in business and financial management in higher education will insure her success as a Senior Helping Seniors franchise owner. She has managed and overseen university business operations with revenues in excess of $56 million in annual sales and has served as CFO on two campuses, with overall responsibility for human resources, technology, and revenue generation/ business development in addition to financial management.

In addition to her professional achievement, Linda is active in her community. She has held leadership and board positions in numerous organizations including, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Larimer Center for Mental Health, Poudre River Library District Board, Family and Children Services of Chattanooga, TN and Bradford, PA, Chattanooga Symphony & Opera Assoc., and National Association of College Auxiliary Services (NACAS), among others. Linda has also completed two community leadership programs: Leadership Chattanooga and Cache Valley Leadership (which she assisted in bringing about) and completed the University of Tennessee Leadership Training and has trained as a facilitator for this and other programs.

Linda says, "Seniors Helping Seniors services are truly …a way to give and to receive. Growth in the population over 65 in Larimer County and all of Northern Colorado will continue especially as people chose to retire to this most desirable area of our country. Both Fort Collins and Loveland have been noted in national publications and surveys as one of the top ten small cities in which to retire. As our population ages, services for seniors, such as those provided by Seniors Helping Seniors will meet a critical need in our communities."

Philip Yocom, and his wife, Kiran Yocom, co-founded Seniors Helping Seniors In-Home Services, which began as a non-profit organization serving Berks County, Pennsylvania over ten years ago. The original Seniors Helping Seniors center continues that tradition, providing over 1,000 hours of service every month.

Philip Yocom said, "What began as a heartfelt mission to fill a need that was not being served by our local community is now being recognized as a prime business opportunity being fueled by the fastest growing demographic in our society."

Philip is pleased to welcome Linda Gabel as a Franchise Partner. "She comes to our Seniors Helping Seniors community with many years of business and customer service experience. Linda has a special passion to help others. She will make an excellent addition to our franchise family, people who are dedicated to providing the Seniors Helping Seniors brand of loving, giving, caring and compassionate service and who will fulfill our mission in further expanding our care giving and companionship services throughout the United States."

He continued, "We want the existing Seniors Helping Seniors organization and our franchises to be the first place that seniors in need of non-medical services and those seeking extra income call."

"Today, our Seniors Helping Seniors organization has grown to over 80 franchises in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington," said Philip.

He adds, "We support all of our franchises with the expertise we have gained in running Seniors Helping Seniors Berks County office. We also provide marketing, sales, management, and technology support. We believe we have found a practical, cost-effective way to simultaneously help seniors remain independent and continue contributing to their community."