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When I was growing up in a small town in Kansas, I hired out as an errand girl for those who were more or less homebound...mostly elderly women. I was doing this at the young age of ten or eleven. I was paid about a dime, but in the 1940s it was okay. There may have been one or two other kids that did this, too. Now that I am one of those "elderly", I could use a bit of help with simple errands exactly like those I did as a kid. I am not so naive as to not know we live in a whole different world then it was then. But, still, we have churches and schools who could implement programs to provide this service and what kid wouldn't love to get involved if it meant a little money in their piggy bank. As I remember, the errands were not big, just a run to the post office for a stamp or to the store for a loaf of bread. I would hope that little things still mean a lot, even in todays world. Kids are kids...nothing really changes there. Thanks for listening, anyway...……...I was just thinking of simpler times...…………….Marie

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Have you asked at your church to see if there are any young members who would be willing to help you out?
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What a good suggestion. There are also "professional" adult errand runners you could hire much like you might hire a home health, but offering a young person the responsibility and some pocket money of such a job is a great idea. Churches or Scout Troops would be good resources for finding reliable young people.
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At our church they are called, they sunshine ministry. They help with lots of things, running errands, cooking meals, taking someone to doctor appointments, etc.
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There are still kids who would like to do stuff like this. In many places, it's hard for teenagers to get any kind of work, but many teens still would like to be able to make some money. Ask your neighbors if they can recommend anyone.
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I have talked to the Youth Minister at my church on four separate occasions. Made appropriate arrangements and agreed to the price asked. Set up date and time. Reconfirmed the day before scheduled. Not a one showed up, called to cancel. Heard from others at church the same thing happened to them. Scouts came to my house to do some walkway edging. Two of them stole clippers and an electric hedge trimmer. A friend who teaches at risk kids hooked me up with a young pregnant teen. I’ve had her on many occasions and she is excellent. Plus I get to see her baby girl which is an added treat. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Scouts and the church kids aren’t always the clean cut kids they’re purported to be.
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NeedHelpWithMom Oct 2019
Usedup,

I totally agree. Some church kids are not the best behaved. Hahaha, especially pastor’s kids! Or deacon’s kids! They have a lot of pressure to be ‘perfect kids.’ They are kids and just like any other kid, trying to see where they fit in this world. Sometimes it takes a kid awhile to find their place in life. Everyone deserves a chance.

But if they don’t show up or even call, without a good excuse then I say move on too.

I have hired kids that were great and some that weren’t reliable at all. I had a babysitter that was so goofy. She would have her keys in the ignition and start panicking saying, “Where are my keys?” LOL. I would calmly tell her, “Honey, they are in the ignition.” She would start giggling. The girl was a straight A student! Just scatterbrained! She was great with my kids! My kids absolutely loved her.

Like you say, not all at risk kids are bad. They made mistakes but many when reached early enough and shown that others care can turn their lives around. It’s when people look down their nose at them and make them feel worthless that they have no incentive to improve their behavior.

Speaking of pregnancy, I once knew a woman in my circle of friends that kept trashing our friend’s daughter for becoming pregnant and getting married in a wedding gown. She wasn’t even ‘showing’ yet.

The young woman was deeply in love, her college sweetheart and he was a wonderful man. They were happy about the upcoming baby. The family accepted the fact that a baby was on the way and were happy as well.

During the reception the mother of the bride’s ‘so called’ friend kept talking about the bride saying the daughter had no business wearing a wedding gown, other ugly comments about this or that and kept saying how embarrassed she would be if it were her daughter.

A few of of us called her aside and told her to please let the family enjoy their day and if she did not approve she should not have come and insulted her to everyone.

Well karma is a b****! A few months later her daughter became pregnant too! She wore a wedding gown too! All of a sudden her she changed her tune and apologized. She adores her grandchild.
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Totally agree with UsedUpDIL.  The worst meddlers were the people from the church.   I never had any use or respect for them anyway.

The neighbors were much more responsive, didn't meddle, and had more real life experience.
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GA and Usedup,

Yeah, no guarantees about help these days, no matter if they come from church or anywhere else.

I used to manage a craft craft shop years ago. I hired a guy from a nearby church that I regretted doing. A couple of women that I hired from the same church were wonderful. They were very self motivated and I didn’t even have to tell them what to do. If they saw that it needed to be done, they did it. Guess who got raises?

I walked in on this man that I hired that was reading the Bible on the job when he was supposed to be stocking the shelves. I had no problem with them reading if there were no customers and all of the work was done. That was rare. We stayed busy most of the time.

When I asked him why he was reading he said, “I am reading the word of God.” I asked him if he got to the scripture about hard work yet! Proverbs 14:23 says, All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

He closed his Bible and started stocking the shelves.
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disgustedtoo Oct 2019
Great that you could quote scripture to him! Set him in his place. Hopefully that continued and if not, hopefully he left or got canned. Great if someone wants to do that, but on their own time (outside of work hours, lunch break, break time), NOT while they should be working!

I do also get allowing them to do this when all work is done and no customers are around, but I had it out with some like that who were laughing, joking, gabbing WHILE doing data entry and as a result were not careful and were making mistakes, many mistakes. My philosophy was get it done and then if there is nothing left, then you can chat or whatever. I had to comment on the loudness of this as well - we were tucked away behind a brick wall and a partition, but everyone could hear them halfway down the hall! The responses I got made up my mind - I need to move on to another position here. THEY didn't make mistakes (HAH!) and THEY came to work to have fun! SHEEET, you want fun, join a sewing circle.
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Hi Marie. I have the same issues. I no longer can care for my flower beds which are in dire need of help nor can I afford the $400 to $800 that was given as the cost of someone to put in mulch and pull weeds, trim etc. Was wondering the same thing, are they any students at the local technical schools or colleges that major in this type of career that would be willing to help us seniors with the challenge of caring for our homes? I really like my home but am considering an independent living facility just due to the fact I can no longer do many of the outdoor maintenance. Many of the children today have everything given to them so they do not need money as the parents give them spending money, provide cars, etc. Much different than when we were their ages.
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kdcm1011 Oct 2019
Outside yard maintenance is what hubby & I figure will force us to move eventually.
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There are all kinds of services today to help the elderly, around here the cost is $20-25 an hour.

Todays children do not work, most don't even do chores around the house, they are not required to, so they just sit around and play video games.

I agree tho, it would help our children of today to develop some type of a work habit.
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NeedHelpWithMom Oct 2019
Sometimes this is true. They have to be taught these work ethics like my dad taught me.
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Call your Area Agency on Aging to ask about available services.

Does a neighbor have a young un that would want to help. What about phoning the counseling office at local schools.
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If your local high school offers vocational classes, I suggest contacting the school for suggestions on teens needing work. Private colleges here offer scholarships to financial needy students that require a certain number of community service hours per week too; even if the college won't count helping you as part of their hours, these students generally have a work ethic and welcome the opportunity to earn some money.
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NeedHelpWithMom Oct 2019
Great suggestion! Those kids do awesome work and have experience.
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Hi everyone. You've given some great answers about finding some help.

Some people have been a bit negative about kids being willing to help out so I'd like to put in my two cents. I'm looking at it as a mom of two teenage boys - one is driving but the other is too young.

Because my older son is mobile, he helps his grandmother when he can. On top of his school classes, he is in the gym 12 hours a week and has a part time job. Most of his friends are the same hard-working people that he is.

My younger son doesn't help Nana with her yardwork as much and that's partly a transportation issue. He can only help his grandmother when his brother or I go over. As a klutzy thirteen year old, I am just beginning to trust him around power equipment or to be cleaning the 2nd story gutters. I won't leave him there without me in case he gets hurt. That means that when he's helping like that, then that's where my day goes also. That being said, I do drop him off to do the less dangerous chores.

I will also say that, if you are paying the kids to help you, please be fair to them. They should be paid for their time and gas if they are driving for you. Nana pays my boys and usually has pizza delivered also.

One woman from church offered my son $5 to cut her yard (about an hour long job). He had to tell her no - it would cost him more in gas to drive over there than he would get paid. She was offended..."Children these days..." when the reality is that she wanted free labor.

And, if you want them to come back, please don't add to their chores with "while you're here" or talk so long that you make them run late.

Definitely, there are kids who are given everything and are lazy as a result. Those parents will regret their actions when the kids are thirty years old and living in their basements!!

Good luck! I hope you can find some kids who are reliable and capable. If you do, ask if their friends can help also...kids who are responsible usually hang out with other kids who are the same.
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NeedHelpWithMom Oct 2019
I agree about being fair with price. Some people are just cheap! I’m not talking about people who can’t afford it. Many people can afford to pay well. They don’t even tip the pizza delivery person. The bare minimum I tip for pizza delivery is $5.00. But if I order a few pizzas for my kids, I top $20.

When I hired kids for babysitting. I paid very well, always had their favorite snacks that they could munch on too. I always had the best sitters when cheap friends were complaining they couldn’t find someone to sit.

Same with kids who mowed my lawn or weeded my garden. I paid them a great price, plus made a large pitcher of iced water, lemonade or iced tea for them. They worked hard.

Occasionally, a slacker would show up. Simple! I didn’t hire them again and was loyal to kids who earned their pay. I always worked hard. My dad taught me strong work ethics and I never expected anyone to do what I didn’t do myself.
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Three cheers for metoo111's post. Some children are great workers, some aren't, just as some adults are great workers and some aren't.
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metoo111 Oct 2019
Thanks!
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I think the issue of values and standards of young people is a relevant one.   Although I haven't done any research, I think some factors are socio-economic status (rich kids don't need to work), parental role models, initiative and drive, as well as how much youngsters are captivated by tech devices.

And whether parents are military or not is a factor as well, from what I've seen.  This segues into the category not only of parental role models, but of orientation and disposition:  some people are more oriented toward helping others; it's part of their persona.  

I think this happens more often in working class families as well.    They know what it's like to be in need of assistance. 

Think of those in "helping" professions:  law enforcement, first responders, medical, educational personnel, volunteers, and more.   They're oriented toward public reach-out, as are tradesmen.     

And from what I've observed from friends, acquaintances and cyber-friends, people coming from these kinds of backgrounds are more likely to be involved with volunteer organizations.  I don't have any statistics or bonafide research on this though - it's merely an observation.
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Invisible Oct 2019
Well, you have to tell people when you need help, whether it's family, church or other local organization. I do think kids have a lot more structured activities (sports and jobs) available to them than when I was a kid (in the 60s) and there is less emphasis on volunteering within the community. The volunteer work tends to be trips to other locations or high visibility projects. They will not notice the person next door needs assistance unless their parents notice and do something about it.
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GA,

You make a good point. Both of my daughters volunteer. They grew up seeing me volunteering in the community. My kids made a fortune babysitting though. Some of my neighbors even bring babysitters on fabulous vacations with them! They play tennis, belong to social clubs, sad but they don’t spend a lot of time with their kids.

I think it’s a safety concern too. People are afraid of strangers too. We teach our kids to be cautious.

I am cautious around strangers. Once I was picking up several pizzas for a party that I was having. I couldn’t do delivery because it wasn’t a ‘chain’ restaurant. It was a local place with gourmet pizzas.

Here I was struggling with several boxes, my purse, keys, the phone out because my friend was calling, grrrr. I almost dropped the pizzas. A nice man that was in the parking lot ran over to help me manage. I got a little nervous around a stranger. He asked to give him the keys and he would open my car door.

Are you kidding? This is New Orleans, high crime, car jacking galore. No way was I going to hand him my keys. I politely thanked him, but told him that I could handle it and dumped the pizzas on the hood of my car and opened my own door.

It’s a shame that we are skeptical of others. This was a nice looking man in a business suit in a good neighborhood but that doesn’t mean anything here. Crimes happen all the time in good neighborhoods with people that don’t look like criminals.

Bottom line, better to be safe than sorry and we have to be street smart.
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Invisible Oct 2019
How sad. I would have taken the help. Give him the pizzas to hold.
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A lot of us are in the position of needing to hire help. I know gas, tires, and oil need factored in, but in observation, just how are elderly people expected to pay $20 - $25 an hour, who never earned more than $13 - $14 an hour? I know prices go up, but really? Kids live so well these days that they feel their unskilled labor is worth that much? (Obviously we aren’t in the category of having the means to pay these unrealistic unskilled labor rates, and so, we go without).
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senior2019 Oct 2019
Good Morning Girl Saylor.
I am right there with you and agree wholeheartedly. There are many wonderful children out there that would be willing to help and would do a great service to us. Problem is finding them in the area where we live. I need flower bed help, Unable to find anyone willing to do the labor for $15-25 an hour, High but willing to pay someone who is dependable, honest and willing to work. Have a Blessed and Awesome day.
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Hi Marie, I agree. Kids are still kids today but many are not taught to "give back to their communities" like we were. We had the churches on every street corner opening their doors 7 days a week, helping their communities. Nowadays, we see a coffee shop, a fast food restaurant and 2 drugs stores on the four corners of our streets. Churches are open one day a week and if they do mission work, it is often to some other country, not to the person sitting in the pew next to us. As a teacher in a Christian school, we required our students to do "community service". But get this, they weren't allowed to help individuals! They could only get credit if they helped a "non-profit" business. So most of them just filed some papers in the company's offices for credit. And these were great kids who truly had a heart to help...can you hear my frustration?
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I just reviewed Papa. Its a cool solution for young people to help with "elderly". I think it might be a great thing for you, assuming they are up and running in your area. https://www.joinpapa.com/media/home-health/
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Somethingelsa Oct 2019
Wow . Never knew this existed . Another great option
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Metoo111 I loved your response . Times have definitely changed but isn’t that the cry of every generation? I remember ( I’m 72) when as teenagers we were compared to our parents who grew up during the depression and “walked miles to school in the snow with newspaper in their shoes” I remember the Beatles were going to destroy us and so was TV. I am very lucky as an elderly woman with a husband with AD. My children and grandchildren help greatly and like others I think it’s what they saw parents and grandchildren doing as they were growing up . However life is different and lives are so busy with work , school , young children and living a bit farther away than we used to . As a gift one daughter enrolled us in one of those grocery delivery services and it’s such a life changer for me . I now can order what I need from my phone anytime I need to and within an hour it’s being carried into my kitchen . If you have a Target red card they have a 2 day free delivery and you can order anything they carry . ( plus get 5%off) Now I don’t have to wait for the evening or the weekend when my kids are able to come over . Instead I can visit with them or take a nap while they sit with their Dad ( grandfather ) I also have
a “ nextdoor “ app on my phone which is an app all your neighbors join and ask for and give access and reviews to people they have used for different projects . The one thing I’ve learned is the only constant in our lives is change so as hard as it is I’ve really tried to change with the times. It is what it is , not it is what is was unfortunately . I know where you’re coming from believe me . As my mother used to say “ old age isn’t for sissies “ and boy was she right . As a child of the sixties I actually believed LOVE was all we needed and was the magic word . She told me the magic word was adjust and I now know what she was talking about . Wish I could tell her 😂
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Invisible Oct 2019
Thank you for bringing these delivery services up and the importance of keeping up with the times. I think being adaptable is the most useful survival skill of our times. The other benefit here is that you don't have to feel obligated to anyone and wait on them. You can operate independently. That counts for something.
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Many schools require "service learning" but they favor large organized activities like park cleanups and tree planting for their students. Does your helper have to be a kid? Kids have a lot more activities to do at school these days. Church members now are more likely to be older adults.

I am in my sixties and have helped my neighbors with many tasks like yard clean up, short shopping trips and rides to appointments. If you need food, medicine,stamps etc those can all be delivered. For larger jobs, do a search to see if "Task Rabbit" is in your area.
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Check with the local Salvation army and autism care facilities. Alot of the HF adults would love JUST TO BE USEFUL.
They may require more direction than your typical helper, sometimes they can work on a volunteer basis, it gets them social contact and they are paid through the Salvation Army, not by you.

My son helped care for my older sister. She was 77 and he was 29. I could not have asked for a more dedicated helper. But the downside: everyday, repeating the same instructions.
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In my town the senior center has a list of volunteers and many are young people, even teenagers, who will run simple errands. There must also be lists for people willing to run errands for pay. Agencies that provide home care might also have people who simply run errands. I'm sure grocery stores will deliver as well. For myself I sometimes call my grandson and pay him at least $15 an hour for things like cleaning the house gutters, moving heavy furniture, trimming bushes, etc. I was called by my grandmother a lot, so I'm carrying on that tradition.
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Two ideas. First, is there a girl scout organization you could approach about this? Second, those students considering applying to National Honor Society require community service credits; many of those students are great kids. Contact the high school guidance department to discuss this. If you want to suggest these things indirectly, you could talk to your local council on aging and maybe they could communicate with the schools and local groups.
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I live in Ontario & here kids can't graduate high school without so many hours of volunteer service - so most do it in grades 9 & 10 so they can concentrate on their studies in 11 & 12

Because of this programme, when my mom was in NH there were several girls who came in & put nail polish on their nails as well as a chat .... my mom just loved it

Check out if there is a similar programme where you live by phoning guidance councillor at your local high school - otherwise see if a youngster can be recommended for your mini-job of errand running/shopping
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GardenArtist Oct 2019
That's an excellent idea, to incorporate volunteer service into school curricula.   I don't know if there are similar programs here in the States, but I think there ought to be.

Thanks for sharing those insights.
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It would be nice if churches could post names and numbers of teens who would be willing to run errands for the elderly.
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NeedHelpWithMom Oct 2019
Maybe we could all mention to our pastors that elders are in need of help and offer to chair a ministry.

Names of helpers could be listed in the church bulletin. A guest speaker would be helpful to help kids understand the situation. If they aren’t aware of issues they don’t realize how serious a situation is.

Some churches have ministries (ours does)to help families in need but it generally isn’t teens who help. It’s the adults. I cook meals sometimes to deliver to a family.

Teens do community service projects though to earn school credit. The youth groups do participate here.

My daughter goes with her friends in college and paints classrooms in schools that are in poor areas. My kid has a big heart. These schools are not in good neighborhoods. She grew up watching her dad and I volunteer so I think it came naturally to her.

My other daughter is involved in volunteering with the homeless. Again, they grew up volunteering either with me, church, scouts, school and other organizations in the community. We have church run ministries for the homeless, many of the homeless here are elderly. Yes, there are shelters. Some volunteers go and pick up donuts for breakfast from donut shops to help feed them. Otherwise, tons of donuts would just be thrown out daily.

I think it depends on life experiences too. My younger daughter ended an abusive relationship in college. She ended up having to get a restraining order on this guy. She and another friend who was being abused as well are volunteering at a crisis center for women. Statistics are pretty high for young women being abused.

I also volunteered with a shelter for women and children. I don’t speak about it usually because of painful memories but I was attacked in my youth and it effected me tremendously. So, I think sometimes our life experiences form us to have a heart to volunteer.
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Some churches, charitable organizations, and schools can arrange for a young person or volunteer to come over and help for a set amount of time. The youngsters usually need "volunteer hours" for graduation or to get into some colleges.
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Have you contacted a church regarding your needs? Many churches have youth groups as well as scouting and they may be able to help you. Another option is contacting your local middle or high school. Many schools now require studentsnto perform community service and they may be able to assist you as well. Lastly, what about the Y?
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Some communities have volunteer organizations, often in connection with local churches, who have volunteers who will help with rides to doctors, small home repairs and some yard work help for eligible senior citizens. There is usually not a charge for these services, but the volunteer organizations appreciate donations.
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I have two teen/tween grandchildren. Their parents do not allow them to participate in Scouts (Boy Scout leader who was into child porn) and male church youth leader who abused several young girls. They allow them to help grandparents and older relatives they know, but no one out in the community. They would rather be safe than sorry with their children. Sad.
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Isthisrealyreal Nov 2019
And these pigs are allowed to remain involved with activities that involve children?
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You could get some of the items you might need delivered directly to your home. Groceries. Stamps. Pet food. Pretty Much anything from Amazon. Etc. You could even get reoccurring deliveries. If you can’t set it up yourself, get a computer literate friend to help. Good luck.
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disgustedtoo Oct 2019
Perhaps OP is also thinking of some "socializing" as well. It is usually great for the older ones to meet/spend a little time with younger people. When my son brought his little boy to mom's MC, it cheered up most of the other residents!

Certainly there are many ways to get items delivered, even stamps (easiest if one has some computer savvy.) However some people like the "personal" touch, or perhaps want to instill that same pride in work done for the young'uns.

But, for someone who needs other tasks done at their home (gardening, yard work, mowing, leaves, moving items, etc), you need someone to do the work!
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