Privacy & accessibility.

Last updated: 29 August 2026

Privacy policy

The short version

We collect the least we can get away with. We never sell, rent, trade or lend your information to anybody. Participant details go only to the staff arranging your services and the volunteer matched to you. You can ask us what we hold, and ask us to delete it, at any time.

Who we are

Love The Elderly is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization registered in the State of Michigan, EIN 00-0000000, at 1500 Woodward Avenue, Suite 210, Detroit, MI 48226. Questions about this policy go to privacy@lovetheelderly.com or (313) 555-0142.

What we collect, and why

• Participants and referrals — name, address, phone, age, preferred language, the services requested, and anything you choose to tell us about what would help. We use it to arrange and deliver services, and for nothing else.
• Volunteers — contact details, availability, languages, references, and the results of a criminal background and (for drivers) driving record check. Used to screen, train, match and support you.
• Donors — name, contact details and giving history, so we can acknowledge gifts, meet IRS receipting requirements and keep our books straight.
• Website visitors — see "This website" below.

What we do not collect

We do not ask participants about income, savings, insurance, citizenship or immigration status. We do not want your Social Security number, your bank details, or your medical records, and no programme requires them. If you send them to us anyway, we will delete them and tell you we have.

Who sees it

Participant information is visible to the staff coordinators arranging your services and to the volunteer matched with you, who receives your name, address, phone number and anything you have specifically asked us to pass on. Nothing else is shared without your spoken or written permission, with three exceptions where the law requires or permits it: a genuine emergency where someone's life or safety is at immediate risk; a mandated report of suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of a vulnerable adult; and a valid court order or subpoena.

We never sell, rent, trade or lend participant, volunteer or donor information — including to other nonprofits, and including in aggregate lists.

Service providers

We use a small number of outside services to run the organisation — for example website hosting, email, accounting and payment processing for donations. Each is bound by contract to use the information only to provide the service to us. We do not use advertising networks or data brokers.

How long we keep it

Participant records are kept for the duration of service and three years afterwards, then destroyed. Volunteer screening records are kept for the duration of service and seven years afterwards, as our insurer requires. Donor records are kept for seven years to satisfy IRS and audit requirements.

Your choices

• Ask what we hold about you, and receive a copy — normally within ten business days.
• Correct anything that is wrong.
• Ask us to delete your records, except where we must keep them for tax or safeguarding reasons.
• Stop all mail, email and phone contact. This takes effect the same day.
• Refuse to have your name, photograph or story used anywhere, at any time, without giving a reason.

To do any of these, email privacy@lovetheelderly.com or call (313) 555-0142.

Stories and photographs

We never publish a participant's name, photograph, story or quotation without separate, specific, written consent — and consent can be withdrawn at any time, including after publication. We do not photograph anyone inside their home without asking on that particular day. This applies to us, to press, and to funders.

This website

The site sets no cookies of any kind, and stores nothing at all in your browser. Our host keeps standard server logs — IP address, page requested, time, browser type — for security and troubleshooting, and these are discarded on the host's normal schedule.

Web fonts are loaded from Google Fonts, which means your browser makes a request to Google's servers when you visit. If you would prefer to avoid that entirely, the fonts can be self-hosted; email us and we will do it.

Information submitted through the forms on this site is emailed to the relevant team and stored in our internal records. Forms are not a secure channel for sensitive information — for anything confidential, please telephone us instead.

Children

This site is not directed at children. Volunteers under 18 apply with a parent or guardian, and we collect only what the programme requires.

Changes

If this policy changes materially we will post the new version here with a fresh date, and write to participants, volunteers and donors directly rather than relying on you to notice.

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Accessibility statement

Our commitment

Most of the people who use this site are over 60, and a great many of them read with reduced vision, use a screen reader, or navigate entirely by keyboard. Building for that is not a compliance exercise for us; it is the audience.

We aim to meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA across the whole site, and Level AAA for text contrast wherever the design allows.

What we have built in

• Body text starts at 18px with 1.65 line spacing, and the page reflows correctly when you increase text size with your browser’s own zoom or font settings.
• The page reflows properly when zoomed to 200% and beyond; nothing is lost or cut off.
• Colour contrast exceeds 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text and interactive elements throughout.
• Every interactive element is reachable by keyboard, in a sensible order, with a clearly visible focus ring.
• Buttons and links have a minimum touch target of 48 by 48 pixels.
• Semantic headings, landmarks, form labels and error messages announced to screen readers.
• All meaningful images carry alternative text; decorative ones are hidden from assistive technology.
• Animation is subtle, never flashing, and switches off entirely if your device requests reduced motion.
• Colour is never the only way information is conveyed.
• The site works with JavaScript disabled, apart from form validation.

Where we know we fall short

We test with keyboard navigation, screen readers and browser zoom before every release, but we are a six-person staff and we will miss things. Currently: some data tables scroll sideways on very narrow screens, and our PDF documents are not yet fully tagged for screen readers — email us and we will send a plain-text or large-print version the same day.

Tell us

If any part of this site is difficult to use, please tell us at access@lovetheelderly.com or call (313) 555-0142. We will reply within two business days with a fix or a workaround, and we will send you the information you were trying to get by whatever means suits you — post, telephone, large print or in person.

Other formats

Anything on this site is available in large print, by post, or read aloud over the telephone. Just ask. We also arrange interpreters, including ASL, with 48 hours' notice at no cost.