 Got your ducks in a row? It’s that time of year, and the race is on! Piedmont Senior Resources has been hard at work organizing the 2021 Great Farmville Duck Derby. Canceled last spring because of COVID-19, the Duck Derby is back this autumn and is one of the kickoff events for the 2021 Heart of Virginia Festival. You’ll find our ducklings racing to the finish line beginning at 6 p.m. Sept. 17 at Riverside Park. A joint effort among Piedmont Senior Resources, the Heart of Virginia Festival and the Farmville Jaycees Live @ Riverside concert series, the Duck Derby is a fun, unique fundraiser designed to support the older adults in our community. Originally a signature fundraiser of the United Way of Prince Edward County, the Duck Derby is now executed exclusively by PSR. We jumped at the opportunity to continue this tradition, and we couldn’t be more thrilled! What better way to help your neighbors? All Duck Derby proceeds stay in the seven-county area so PSR can offer more services to our older adult clients. Want to be a part of the fun? It’s easy. First, duck your friends! Then, adopt some ducks and come down to the derby to enjoy live music, food and beverages on the waterfront — and to cheer on your paddlers!  Duck your neighbor! Support your community. Anyone can help spread the word about our fundraiser by ducking a friend or neighbor! For $20, PSR will place four wooden ducks in someone’s yard to bring awareness to the derby. Your neighbors will wake to a flock of feathered friends outside their door. Who knows? Maybe they’ll pass it on! Become a sponsor Does your local business want to help? Become a sponsor. Available at multiple levels, from the Baby Duck level of $50 up to the Launchpad Duck level of $3,000 (with Dewey, Huey, Daisy and Donald levels in between), sponsorships bolster our fundraising efforts, allowing us to reach more community members.  Enter the Derby
Purchase ducks for $5 a quack! Feeling lucky? You can buy six ducks for $25 or a whole flock of 25 for $100. At 6 p.m. on derby day, volunteers will dump the rubber duckies (numbered by ticket of course!) into the Appomattox River, for their paddle to the finish line at Riverside Park. Who will come in first? Winners will be announced live at the event, and the owner of the fastest swimmer will receive a $1,000 prize. “The profits stay right here at home with your neighbor.” What’s the No. 1 reason you should participate in the Great Duck Derby? By supporting the derby, you are supporting the elderly adult population in our seven-county area through programs such as Care Coordination, Home-Delivered Meals and Non-Emergency Medical Transportation. “The profits stay right here at home with your neighbor,” says Jordan Miles, PSR’s director of Nutrition Services, Nutrition Transportation and Medical Transportation. Proceeds from the Duck Derby will help PSR provide services that aren’t covered by state and federal funds. The derby’s non discretionary funds can be used for purchasing wheelchairs, grab bars and hot water heaters as well as for providing services like repairing steps, yard cleanup and pest control. So get involved! Adopt a duck from Piedmont Senior Resources at 1413 South Main Street in Farmville anytime 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. For questions or more information, contact 434-767-5588 or Jamie Anderson at janderson@psraaa.org. Then come to Riverside Park on Sept. 17, and celebrate the last days of summer with your neighbors (and their feathered friends) at the derby!  PSR staff member April Ross packs bags of water for homebound clients. PSR is responding to the two devastating ice storms in a bold and impactful way over a week-long period. More than 1,000 meals, including 350 donated hot meals from Farmville-based Fishin’ Pig restaurant, were packed and delivered to older adults in need and often without electricity. This includes shelf-stable meals, and home delivered meals. One-hundred of the meals went directly to a local nursing and rehabilitation facility’s patients and staff. “PSR is very proud to once again be engaged in emergency services for our region,” said Justine A. Young, CEO of PSR. “COVID-19 already gave us practice in mobilizing for a region-wide emergency and now these ice storms showed again how quickly we can mobilize to protect and care for our older generations who are often isolated. We are honored to be able to help citizens throughout Central Virginia and work with such wonderful community partners. Together we are stronger.” PSR obtained gallon jugs and hundreds of bottles of water, delivering more than 950 bottles of water across the region. Prince Edward County donated many of the bottles of water. Blankets and quilts along with other items, such as care packages, were also distributed. PSR staff were able to direct many clients toward county shelters, especially those in Nottoway, Charlotte, and Lunenburg, the counties hardest hit by the first ice storm. One client had been sleeping in her car for days to keep warm as her house had no electricity, until PSR informed her of the shelter in Nottoway. “You have no idea how much it means to me to get this today,” one client told PSR staff Claire Furber and Michelle Temple upon receiving their hot meal and water. “Thank you again for thinking of us and having the delicious food sent,” said the Director of Nursing at Heritage Hall-Dillwyn. “This was truly a team effort and a showcase of what we can do for our seniors when we need to deliver direct services quickly,” said Director of Nutrition and Transportation Thomas Jordan Miles III. “Our staff, from the drivers, volunteers, office staff, homemakers, and everyone involved, really worked together in a major way to get older adults, many of whom have not had power in days, what they need in a matter of a day and a half.” The agency assessed needs via telephone on Tuesday, and made in person visits in the advent of the Thursday ice storm. Deliveries were made to all seven counties in advance of the second ice storm and to help our homebound clients get over the hard first ice storm. For more information PSR, and to find out about our services, call 434-767-5588, or email psr@psraaa.org.  PSR delivered more than 950 bottles of water to older adults this week, along with hot meals, frozen meals, blankets, care packages, and other necessities. PSR Receives $2,500 From MOW America and PetSmart Charities® to Support Clients and Their Pets10/29/2020
 Pictured are PSR staff Nikki Dean and Jim Christie displaying the pet food that has been distributed. Piedmont Senior Resources (PSR) is proud to announce that it has received a $2,500 Meals on Wheels Loves Pets grant through Meals on Wheels America, for its pet support program, PSR’s Pet Love Program.
The funding was used to provide food and supplies for the pets of PSR’s home delivered meal clients, which can often be a financial and physical challenge for older adults to manage on their own. The funds have been spent down. “This grant is just another opportunity PSR staff have identified and captured for the benefit of our clients and region,” said PSR CEO Justine Young. “Nikki Dean, our Nutrition Program Coordinator, takes a huge interest in her clients and their well-being. She has recognized the importance of pets in the overall health of our aging population.” “This grant we applied for has allowed access to thousands of pounds of dog and cat food and cat litter to older adults across Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Prince Edward counties,” said Dean. “It’s so important to keep older adults with their beloved pets, especially when most of those older adults were socially isolated even before the COVID-19 Pandemic hit, and now it’s become worse.” Funding for this grant was made possible through a partnership with PetSmart Charities, part of Meals on Wheels America’s strategic effort to combat social isolation and loneliness among seniors across the country. This year, PetSmart Charities’ support allowed Meals on Wheels America to grant $354,500 to 98 Meals on Wheels programs through the Meals on Wheels Loves Pets initiative, which ensures that homebound seniors and their animal companions can live happy, healthy lives together. “The companionship a pet offers enhances the physical and mental health and well-being of homebound seniors, which is particularly valuable as so many older adults are feeling even more lonely and isolated amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Meals on Wheels America President and CEO Ellie Hollander. “We’re grateful for PetSmart Charities’ ongoing support, which has allowed us to invest Meals on Wheels Loves Pets grants in more local Meals on Wheels programs than ever before. This support will enable PSR to provide pet supplies and care to local seniors, making it more feasible for seniors to remain safe and healthy at home with their beloved companions during this public health emergency and beyond.”  Nineteen businesses and organizations -- including Piedmont Senior Resources -- participated in the Paint the Town Purple event in Farmville to bring more awareness to Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia. Pictured are Marion Kyner, with the Alzheimer's Association, Nikki Dean and Jordan Miles with PSR.
As part of The 2020 Subaru Share the Love Event, join Marion Kyner, Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist and Alzheimer's Association Representative, along with PSR staff, for an open, virtual discussion about supporting caregivers and persons with dementia during the holidays. We will also be discussing ways the community can support The 2020 Share the Love Event! Details about the event are below.
For more details, contact PSR Director of Nutrition and Transportation Jordan Miles at jmiles@psraaa.org or 434-767-5588. Virtual is free and open to the public. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83220904709?pwd=SUE1bXI4T1dvZWFxWjZiZ3JBZVMvUT09 Meeting ID: 832 2090 4709 Passcode: PSR Call In: (929) 205-6099 (New York) Meeting ID: 832 2090 4709 Passcode: 885824 Piedmont Senior Resources (PSR) is proud to announce that it has received a $10,000 TRUIST Foundation COVID-19 Response grant for its home-delivered meal program, specifically toward the purchase of a new retro-fitted refrigerator van to safely transport meals to older adults.
PSR provides home delivered meals, COVID-19 care packages, pet food, shelf-stable boxes and more essentials to more than 500 older adults across Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Prince Edward counties. This grant, one which became available through the Meals on Wheels of America network, is just another opportunity PSR staff have identified and captured for the benefit of our clients and region. “With our two refrigerator vans aging, we put top priority on seeking funding for a new vehicle to better help us get more meals and essentials to our clients,” said Director of Transportation and Nutrition Thomas Jordan Miles III. “This grant will help offset the cost of the purchase of a new van, which will allow us to expand our delivery capacity and eventually replace our aging fleet.” Miles said the agency and the region are thankful for TRUIST’s corporate responsibility to the community. For more information about PSR’s home-delivered meal program, contact Miles at 434-767-5588.  PSR received a $50K grant to support senior SNAP Enrollment. This grant will assist in closing the hunger gap and enhance access to SNAP benefits for our seniors in the seven rural counties we service, giving them the opportunity to access healthier foods and live a healthier life.
This grant from The National Council on Aging’s Center for Benefits Access will allow PSR to expand services to our current clients and also support new clients. PSR can significantly impact hundreds of the seniors in our communities. Our aging population continues to climb, challenging our agency to provide quality services to the increasing number of seniors. Piedmont Senior Resources Area Agency on Aging staff recently attended the 2020 Virtual Meals on Wheels of America Conference, originally scheduled to be held in Califorina. The conference included numerous sessions, one of which PSR staff members Jordan Miles and Nikki Dean led discussions on how small programs and agencies have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in serving older adults. Pictured are Jordan Miles and Nikki Dean leading discussions via the virtual platform with Meals on Wheels members from across the United States.
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