The CareGivers, Inc. mission is to assist the frail, elderly, and disabled in order that they may maintain their independence and dignity. The programs goal is to provide non-medical support to the frail, elderly, and disabled of the Greater Nashua and Greater Manchester areas, enabling them to maintain their independence and dignity.  CareGivers also provides a personal presence for individuals who have little or no personal contact with others.  We provide service to individuals who may not receive aide through the human service system and do not qualify for government-assisted programs or sliding fees.  We also provide service to those individuals who may be receiving assistance from other agencies, but have additional needs which have gone unmet.

The CareGivers, Inc. held their first meeting in Manchester, NH on February 4, 1984. The Statement of Purpose read, “The CareGivers, Inc. is an Interfaith Volunteer Coalition whose purpose is to work with and enable persons who are frail, elderly and/or disabled to maintain their independence and dignity.” The Articles of Agreement shows that the first meeting of the Incorporators of The CareGivers, Inc. was held on December 6, 1985.

The Manchester CareGivers was one of the first 10 pilots of Interfaith Volunteer Coalition Programs (IVCP’s) in the country. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation had found that in communities across the country congregations were setting up groups to help the elderly in the congregation. They found that this was an ineffective way to serve the growing elderly and disabled population, so they offered $25,000 three year grants to start up IVCP’s in ten communities that would be supported financially and with volunteers by local churches. This would not only better help the disadvantaged of the community, but it would also foster greater communication between people of different faiths. Since then, IVCP’s have spread across the country, internationally.

In April of 1998, we merged with CareGivers of Greater Nashua, an organization that had been around since 1993. It had been started by Rev. Ed Koonz of Pilgrim Church in Nashua.

In the beginning, the Board was made up of representatives of the “member congregations.” We have since tried to have good representation from the business community and social service agencies to help us with our programs and financial well-being.

Over the last three years, the organization’s services have increased dramatically, nearly doubling. The agency has expanded services beyond their core programs to include supplemental  programs aimed at enhancing the lives of the frail, elderly and disabled. The agency currently sponsors many one day service projects like providing spring house cleaning, freezer ready foods and summer heat preparedness kits.