News
Kinney Drugs Foundation Supports Home Share
The Kinney Drugs Foundation, whose mission is “to help people live healthier lives within the communities that are served by Kinney Drugs”, has donated $1,000 to Home Share of Central Vermont (HSCVT). In the HSCVT service area, Kinney Drugs has three stores: on the Barre-Montpelier Road, in Morrisville, and in Randolph.
Home sharing is daily preventative medicine, because people in home shares eat better; stay more engaged in the world around them, which slows the aging process; have improved mental health through decreased loneliness and increased socializing; and have fewer phyiscal disabilities from depression and stress. Home sharing also provides emotional and physical relief for extended families, reducing their stress and accompanying health risks.
In a letter to Foundation Administrator Stacy Spaziani, HSCVT Director Betsy Reid noted that the Kinney foundation’s donation will help HSCVT ”meet greater demands on our program, due in part to rising fuel costs.” Reid thanked the foundation ”for making philanthropy a hallmark of your business.”
Reid also praised local Kinney Drugs representatives Bernie Alden (Morrisville store) and Norm Robinson (Barre-Montpelier Road) . “Each of them took the time to meet with me. I am grateful that you have managers who serve their community so thoughtfully.”
The Kinney Drugs Foundation, Inc., is a not-for-profit 402c organization formed by the Kinney Drugs Company and administered by volunteers. It is committed to help in support of quality health care throught Northern and Central New York and Vermont.
HSCVT Sees Silver Lining
The Times Argus, the daily newspaper for the Barre-Montpelier region of Vermont, recently published the following letter-to the editor from Betsy Reid, director of Home Share of Central Vermont (HSCVT):
“Strenghtening the bonds of community may well be the silver lining accompanying the storm of economic hardships caused by the skyrocketing costs of food and fuel. Vermonters are uniting to face the crisis by car pooling, buying local, and bartering goods and services. There’s a general sense that we’re all in this together, and we will all find ways to help each other through the rough times ahead.
That’s the essence of home sharing: each person helps the other, either by providing housing or by providing the kind of assistance a senior or disabled person needs to remain at home for as long as possible.
We think more seniors than ever before will turn to Home Share of Central Vermont for help this year. We’re already getting calls from individuals facing foreclosure or worried about heating their homes next winter.
At the same time, home sharing presents an opportunity to find more sensible and affordable housing. This option also appeals to people who just don’t want to live alone anymore.
Home sharing is one of many innovative ways each of us can help the central Vermont community weather challenging economic times.”
Reid’s letter caught the eye of WGDR-FM radio host Carl Etnier. On July 24th, Etnier interviewed HSCVT communications specialist Ginny Sassaman and home share participant Dara Von Laanen for a 30-minute exploration of home sharing here in central Vermont.
KeyBank Foundation Awards $1500 to HSCVT
The Key Foundation, which is funded by KeyBank and its Vermont employees, has contributed $1,500 to support our efforts to facilitate home sharing matches.
Amy White, manager of KeyBank’s Barre Branch, presented the check to HSCVT director Betsy Reid. “We are very proud to partner with Home Share of Central Vermont,” White said. Providing resources that HSCVT needs to continue their valuable service “is a wonderful investment in the community.”
Lesli Blount, director of Community Relations for KeyBank, echoed White’s sentiments. “We are proud to be part of HSCVT’s efforts to enable elderly and disabled community members the chance to stay in their homes while providing affordable housing for someone in need,” Blount said.
Reid thanked KeyBank and its employees for their very tangible support. “KeyBank’s generosity is a classic example of Vermonters taking care of each other, which is exactly what home sharing is all about. In a successful home share match, each person helps the other — either by providing housing, or by providing the kind of assistance seniors and the disabled need to remain in their own homes as long as possible. ”
“Just as every participant in a match can take pride in helping the other, so, too, can KeyBank take pride in supporting central Vermont’s only home sharing program,” Reid observed.
Home Share of Central Vermont is sponsored by the Central Vermont Council on Aging but we must raise all our own funds.
HSCVT Volunteer “Stars” in Radio Interview
On Wednesday April 9th, Rosemary Wheelock, a veteran volunteer of Home Share of Central Vermont (HSCVT), got up very early, left her house in Calais and headed for WLBV-AM in Morrisville. Together with HSCVT Home Sharing Supervisor MaryAnn Martinez, Rosemary was interviewed by Roland LaJoie, host of “Vermont Country Morning.”
Rosemary made the early morning trek to Morrisville to extol the benefits of volunteering for HSCVT. “It’s the most heartwarming thing I’ve ever done as a volunteer,” Rosemary told LaJoie and his listeners. “It’s been so wonderful, I’ve met so many wonderful people and I’ve learned a lot. It’s very satisfying and rewarding volunteer work.”
MaryAnn explained to LaJoie and listeners how the program works. She also stressed that the program relies on volunteers like Rosemary.
Rosemary had the last word: “It’s a lot of fun.”
Home Share Testifies Before House Appropriations Committee
February was an important month for Vermont’s two home share programs to make our case for funding to state legislators in Montpelier.
This isn’t an easy year to get state funding, but we got a real boost from a very persuasive speaker: Meg Donahue Davis, a home provider in the Home Share of Central Vermont (HSCVT) program. On February 21st, Meg joined HSCVT Director Betsy Reid to testify before the House Appropriations Committee on behalf of both HSCVT and HomeShare Vermont, the Burlington-based program. According to Betsy, Meg was the real star of the morning and wowed the representatives with her forthright manner and candid assessment of her home sharing experience.
Meg told the Committee, “I cannot emphasize enough the time Home Share of Central Vermont takes to interview, prepare, and match the individuals before we sharers even meet.” This matters, noted Meg, because “each individual need is unique — each is specific — ranging from personal caregiving to just being available.” Meg later compared the home share experience to “having my first child. I was apprehensive. I didn’t know if I could do the right thing. But to my great relief it was easy.” Now, together with her home share partner, “We say thank you Home Share of Central Vermont for rescuing us and for the happiness we have enjoyed knowing each other.”
We say, thank you Meg! You said it better than we could.
Newsletter for caregivers
The Central Vermont Council on Aging (CVCOA), which sponsors Home Share of Central Vermont, provides information and assistance not only to elders, but also to their caregivers. CVCOA’s caregiver services include publishing a newsletter, offering workshops, coordinating support groups. For more information, you can read the February 2008 newsletter, Caring for Caregivers.
TD Banknorth Funds Staff Trainings
From October 2007 through January 2008, the TD Banknorth Charitable Foundation donated a total of $1,495 to Home Share of Central Vermont (HSCVT) to pay for three staff training opportunities.The Foundation recognizes that “job training is essential to the development of employees, and, in turn, the growth of any non-profit organization. But when non-profits are faced with making reductions to their operating budgets, one of the first things to be eliminated is education for employees.” The Foundation donates thousands of dollars to community organizations for employees to attend trainings “that will enhance job performance.” The trainings TD Banknorth funded for HSCVT staff were:
- A four day workshop in Advanced Mediation Training: Elder Mediation in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania for Ginny Sassaman, HSCVT communications specialist;
- A two-hour, full staff training with consultant Lisa Bedinger on strategies to help participants cope with finding affordable housing and/or the ability to stay at home; and
- A four day basic mediation training workshop at Woodbury College in Montpelier for HSCVT director Betsy Reid.
“The mediation tools and techniques I learned were invaluable in helping me guide our program participants as they build successful relationships under challenging circumstances,” Reid told the Foundation. “I applaud you for understanding that learning enriches and enables us to do a better job of serving our communities.”
2007 At a Glance
The Central Vermont Council on Aging (CVCOA) 2007 Annual Report includes a snapshot of what last year was like for each of their sponsored programs, including Home Share of Central Vermont. You can read “2007 At a Glance” by scrolling down to page 8 of the report at www.cvcoa.org/documents/CVCOAannualreport2007final.pdf
—