One of the best things about Senior Services’ new fund-raising campaign is the fact that it’s almost going to be over before it starts.
Another is that there could hardly be a more worthy cause.
Senior Services is now asking local residents to take it the rest of the way there, the Journal reported. Surely in a community this giving, that won’t take long.
Senior Services provides several essential programs for our aging community that include an adult day center, a meals-on-wheels program and a help line. The organization also offers a senior lunch and programs to help the elderly stay healthy in their own homes longer. The new campaign will help them continue and secure these programs.
Some of the funds will also go toward capital projects, replacing some of the furniture at the adult day center that has seen a lot of use.
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the campaign, though, is that Senior Services plans to initiate a new pilot program it’s calling “Aging with Purpose,” which seeks to resolve some of the specific mental, social and emotional difficulties that can come with aging, like feelings of isolation and boredom. The organization wants to partner with other agencies to turn Forsyth County into one of the very best places for aging; one in which the elderly will not see themselves as burdens, but as contributing members of society, still giving back with purpose.
Senior Services’ officials plan to evaluate the pilot program’s results. If they work, they could be duplicated across the country.
The elderly population in Forsyth County is growing. In 2014, the U.S. Census estimated over 48,000 residents 65 and older, representing 13.6 percent of our population. By 2035, the N.C. Office of State Budget and Management estimates almost 87,000 who are 65 and older, representing 19.2 percent of our population, the Journal reported.
“It’s a really important way for this community to help prepare for a growing senior population,” Richard Gottlieb, Senior Services’ longtime president and CEO, told the Journal about the campaign. “The increase in longevity and the huge increase in the number of older adults is a wonderful gift that includes tremendous opportunities for our community.”
Gottlieb, who’s done a fine job at the agency, announced Friday that he will retire in January. We’ll have more to say that about that soon. We’re thankful for his service and that of his agency.
“Old age is not for sissies,” goes the saying. But even our tough elders could use a meal or a helping hand every now and then. We’re glad that Senior Services will be on the job for years to come.
Read the article on the Winston-Salem Journal website here: http://bit.ly/2cxQnI3
