Community Action Helps Senior Citizens Remain in their Own Homes

The Scioto County Community Action Organization (CAO) Social Service Department received a call from Area Agency on Aging, District 7 on April 29.  The Passport case manager stated she had a consumer that needed repairs on a block foundation for a trailer.  She said the consumer was 69 years old, in a wheelchair, her trailer was an older model and the block foundation was not a permanent foundation, but stacked blocks. The foundation blocks settled or shifted over the years to the point the trailer was in danger of falling. As with most seniors, the consumer was not willing to move to an apartment or other household because the trailer and land was her home and she had lived on the property her entire life.

Will you be joining #GivingTuesday?

#GivingTuesday

Social media has created a number of opportunities for nonprofits to increase fundraising goals while lowering campaign costs. It has successfully launched several viral micro-donation campaigns such as the Cold Water or ALS Ice Bucket Challenges and it has enhanced year-end and year-round fundraising. 

You've likely heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday though have you heard of Giving Tuesday? The social media campaign, founded by New York’s 92^nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation, created an outlet encouraging others give back after they grabbed a few holiday sales. The campaign quickly went viral and has since turned into a global movement.

“We have two [days] for getting deals. Now, we have #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back.” ~GivingTuesday.org

Like the annual sale-day traditions, Giving Tuesday follows the Thanksgiving holiday. This year, it lands on December 2, 2014. In 2013, over $300 billion was donated to charities across the United States with much of that being donated in November and December. On Giving Tuesday, donations connected with the campaign are expected to increase 90% over last year’s contributions. The campaign continues to gain momentum with social media boosts while it creates new donor traditions.

For more information, news, webinars, and tools for joining the Giving Tuesday campaign, visit www.givingtuesday.org. 

Community Action Provides Help in a Time of Tragedy

Danielle is a mother with three sons ages 9, 14 and 15. One morning as she and her family were getting ready for school and work, Danielle and her children experienced a tragic and life altering event. Danielle’s husband collapsed and died. She not only had to deal with the pain of losing her husband, but also with the reality of having to raise three boys on her own. When the Community Action Commission of Belmont County heard about her story, they reached out to Danielle to her to tell her about the John C. and Margareta Diest Kelsey Memorial Fund Program.

Community Action Helps People Attain Self-Sufficiency

Jane had been struggling to find and maintain employment. In the summer of 2006, she began utilizing the HUD Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program, which is operated by Washington Morgan Counties Community Action (WMCAP). This program is vital to the community and provides low-income residents the support they need to maintain affordable safe housing. Through the HUD Section 8 Program, participants are offered the option of participating in the Family Self Sufficiency Program (FSS). This option enables participants to obtain and grow an escrow account as an incentive to obtaining higher income and moving towards self sufficiency.

Community Action Serves their Local Communities

In 2001, Lawrence County lost the only hospital in the county, forcing 62,000 residents to seek services from hospitals across the river in West Virginia and Kentucky. Medical professionals vacated the community, $250,000 in hospital revenue disappeared from the area, and southern Ohio had a significant gap in their health care services. Upon the closure, the community called upon the Ironton Lawrence County Community Action Organization (ILCAO) to fill the void created in medical care.