IU students and Bloomington community members are helping serve the elderly this winter by shoveling snow from driveways and sidewalks.
They’ve come together through Snow Buddies, a local organization that has strived to help battle the cold of winters in Bloomington for two years now. The group focuses on helping those in need battle snow-filled driveways and sidewalks by assigning “buddies” to help shovel snow throughout the winter.
The organization is run by the City of Bloomington’s Council of Community Accessibility and announced its first callout in December 2024 with the snow beginning to fall.
The Council of Community Accessibility piloted the program in 2024 after drawing inspiration from Ability Montana, which is a similar nonprofit program that assists with elderly communities. Annabelle Vosmeier, a staff assistant for the council, and liaison Michael Shermis lead the program and quickly realized how much of an impact it has made on the city of Bloomington.
“It’s isolating to be trapped inside your house when the snow traps you in, so I think the program is incredibly important,” Vosmeier said.
Vosmeier has worked for the city for two years and is the assistant for the Bloomington/Monroe County Human Rights Commission. She helps promote awareness for those in need of help.
“Snow Buddies makes a difference to not be cut off from your community,” she said.
Shermis serves as the special projects coordinator for the City of Bloomington. He describes his role as someone who “oversees it [the projects] and brings concepts to the council.” He has also worked with the human rights commission.
“Snow Buddies was an idea that the administration was completely behind,” Shermis said.
Antonia Matthew said she has been helped greatly by the program. Matthew is now 87 years old and can’t walk without the assistance of a walker.
“Having a buddy and him shoveling for me makes me much more independent,” Matthew said.
Matthew has lived in Bloomington since 1967 and taught courses at Indiana University. She said she is happy Snow Buddies is growing.
“It is wonderful that IU students are helping the Bloomington community,” Matthew said. “I have some chocolates for him whenever he comes by. I leave it on the porch, and it’s a small way of saying thank you.”
During the pilot program, 15 households in Bloomington were paired with a buddy during the winter season. For the first snowfall of the winter this year, there were already 11 pairs. Vosmeier said this winter’s pair total is expected to far surpass last winter and should be making a great impact on the community in the coming months. There are already 27 volunteers willing to help out this winter, matching last year’s total altogether.
People are able to sign up through a Google form posted on the program’s website. Applications run through the winter and apply to both volunteers and those in need of help.
