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Piedmont Senior Resources Area Agency on Aging is partnering with the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts in an effort to deliver more engaging activities to homebound older adults across the seven-county region PSR serves. The bags included sun catcher art crafts and a word search related to sun catchers, and were recently delivered to homebound older adults. Pictured with LCVA craft bags are Nikki Dean and Jordan Miles with PSR.  PSR recently participated in fiscal training with the Virginia Association of Area Agencies on Aging in Richmond. Pictured are, from left, PSR CEO Justine Young, VAAAA President Thelma Bland Watson, and PSR Director of Transportation, Nutrition and Medical Transportation Jordan Miles. Not pictured is Mari Rodgers, PSR CFO.  Piedmont Senior Resources Area Agency on Aging (PSRAAA), a private non-profit organization dedicated to serving the needs of senior citizens (i.e. 60 years and older) within the Piedmont Planning District #14 (i.e. Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway, and Prince Edward counties), intends to enter into a Contract to procure frozen meals in accordance with applicable state and federal law governing federally-funded meal programs for the year of October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2022. Find more specific details in the request packet below. The application is also attached towards the end of the packet and can be printed or downloaded to your computer to be filled out.  Pictured packing Santa for Seniors bags in December are, from left, April Ross, Navona Hart, and Lexie Sprague. Sprague and Ross work for Piedmont Senior Resources (PSR), which earned more than $8,500 through the 2019 Subaru Share the Love Event. Hart’s Real Living Cornerstone has been a key sponsor of the project for many years. Piedmont Senior Resources (PSR) Area Agency on Aging has been notified by Meals on Wheels of America of its success in earning more than $8,500 in grant money through its efforts on the Santa for Seniors Project with The 2019 Subaru Share the Love Event, held last Christmas.
With the help of many volunteers and staff, PSR stuffed more than 500 bags with toilet paper, cleaning supplies, dish liquid, laundry detergent, bars of soap, shampoo, lap blankets, canned goods, non-perishable food, tooth paste, tooth brushes, and more. This is the fourth year PSR has participated in Subaru Share the Love Event. “More than 30 volunteers, advocates, students, and community leaders helped us pack hundreds of bags filled with toiletries and household staples for older adults in the region just in time for Christmas,” said PSR CEO Justine A. Young, in reference to the project. “Students and staff from Buckingham County High School volunteered to help pack bags, along with employees of New Century Hospice and members of Ward's Chapel United Methodist Church, along with other community volunteers.” Young confirmed that PSR knows and has been told that often, these are the only gifts clients receive during the holiday season. Over the last 11 years, Subaru of America and its participating retailers have donated more than $145 million to help those in need. By the end of this, the 12th year, Subaru and its participating retailers will have donated over $170 million to help those in need through the Share the Love Event. Real Living Cornerstone—Navona Hart, along with Alcova Mortgage—Tony Markland, and many other businesses and individuals provided cash toward the purchase of the items that weren’t donated. Hart has been a steadfast supporter of PSR and this event since the first Christmas project began, and the agency is grateful for her support. “As a member of our small community, I love how organizations and the community come together to ‘Share the Love’ with our seniors. This opportunity that Subaru provides is so important for places and organizations like PSR. I look forward to supporting and participating for years to come.” PSR kicked off The 2019 Subaru Share the Love Event last November with a Farmville Area Chamber of Commerce after-hours event to ring in the holiday season. Guests came with donations for the event and enjoyed beverages and an opportunity to mingle. In early December, PSR held a fundraising effort in partnership with North Street Press Club, not only soliciting monetary donations, but also items that have been packed in the bags. The Virginia Department of Health is holding a FREE COVID-19 testing event on this Saturday starting at 10 a.m. at Central High School in Lunenburg County, located at 131 KV Road, Route 40, in Victoria. The VDH has 500 tests they can administer to anyone in the region. Please help us spread this good news throughout the region. We urge social distancing and the wearing of face coverings and masks.
We're so proud to partner with the Department of Aging and Dominion Energy to get air conditioners to older adults with respiratory issues! Please share this with any older adults or their loved ones who you think could benefit.
2020 Senior Cool Care Program What is Senior Cool Care? This year marks the 30th year Dominion Energy has provided fans, and now single-room air conditioners, for eligible seniors, age 60 and older, who need additional cooling in their homes. Call us at 434-767-5588 or email us at rplonski@psraaa.org if we can help! General Information • Sponsored by Dominion Energy • Program runs from June 1 through the last working day of September 2020 • Area Agencies on Aging collaborate with their local retailers to purchase single-room air conditioners at the best price • Fans are available (if the senior prefers) https://domsavings.com/va/rhea/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwwr32BRD4ARIsAAJNf_1n_tLn_aPswfkFwIqCN2jXAMhsr6beOdTptJ4G4KSD3iJVg5-K_eAaAiCQEALw_wcB Virginia’s Farm Market Fresh program helps eligible seniors get fresh produce and supports local farmers and farmers’ markets.
The program offers coupons to low-income residents age 60 or older, which can be exchanged for fresh, locally grown fruits, vegetables and fresh-cut herbs at approved farmers’ markets and roadside stands. Older adults in Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Prince Edward counties can complete an application at their local Area Agency on Aging, Piedmont Senior Resources, 434-767-5588 or email rplonski@psraaa.org. Participation is limited and applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. “We are pleased to once again offer this program to our older adults across the region,” said Interim PSR CEO Thomas Jordan Miles III. “We have room to grow with this program, and we are working with the Department of Aging to ensure social distancing and, if appropriate, the wearing of face coverings during these market events.” For more information on the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, visit https://vda.virginia.gov/sfmnp.htm. For more information on Piedmont Senior Resources, visit www.psraaa.org. The Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services’ Office for Aging Services partners with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, 10 local Area Agencies on Aging and one city government to operate the program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Piedmont Senior Resources Area Agency on Aging (PSR) is rolling out new programs in response to the continued health threats and risks stemming from COVID-19.
PSR staff and volunteers will soon be transporting and purchasing staple grocery items and prescription medications for older adults in an effort to keep those most vulnerable to COVID-19 in their homes. “Thanks to the funding in the CARES Act from the Congress, our agency is in a great position to initiate some new, out of the box, programming that will result in fewer older adults having to go out to the stores and pharmacies, thereby exposing themselves to the virus,” said PSR Interim CEO Thomas Jordan Miles III. “We’ve got staff and volunteers who are ready and willing to pick up the groceries and their prescription drugs and work with our clients, while identifying up new clients.” Volunteers are needed to purchase, shop and deliver both groceries and medicine. Miles said there is specific criteria for both the grocery and medicine programs. “As for the grocery pick up program, the client will be provided a standard approved list of grocery options to be picked up from selected grocery stores. We will shop once a month for each client, using gift cards with a maximum spending amount.” Older adults must call PSR at least seven business days in advance of their requested drop off date, and the client must be home to receive the groceries. “As for the medicine program, the client must call PSR at least ten (10) business days in advance of their requested prescription pickup date,” Miles said. In addition to the client being home to receive the medication, the client must contact their pharmacist and confirm with them that a PSR staff member or volunteer will be paying and picking up medications. If not confirmed, medication will not be picked up. The PSR staff member or volunteer will confirm with client’s pharmacist that they will be in to pay and pick up medications. In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, PSR has received more than $730,000 in federal aid to help keep older adults at safe and secure. The money was approved by the U.S. Congress through the Families First Coronavirus Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The medicine and grocery programs begins June 1 and are available to older adults age 60 and older in Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Prince Edward counties. For more information on the program or to sign up as a volunteer, contact Laura Gaston at 434-767-5588, or email lgaston@psraaa.org. In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Piedmont Senior Resources Area Agency on Aging (PSR) has received more than $730,000 in federal aid to help keep older adults across the seven-county area remain safe and secure.
The money was approved by the U.S. Congress through the Families First Coronavirus Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. “This money is coming to us from the federal government because we are the designated Area Agency on Aging for the counties of Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Nottoway, Lunenburg and Prince Edward counties,” said Interim CEO Thomas Jordan Miles III. “There is no local match with this money, unlike with our standard Older Americans Act funds where there is a required local 10 percent match.” The FFCRA funds are strictly for home meal delivery, per restrictions placed on the funds by the Congress, which means more frozen and hot meals for older adults aged 60 and over. “Through the FFCRA, and part of the CARES Act, we are able to really ramp up our traditional frozen meal program, and begin the delivery of hot, nutritious meals from local restaurants in an effort to support these small businesses when they are suffering immensely,” Miles said. Besides more home delivered meals, the CARES Act funding will result in a wide, temporary expansion of programs and services, including the homemaker/companion aid program, the purchasing of more personal protective equipment for clients, such as gloves and masks, the ability to complete more additional small, home projects, more services from the care coordination program, additional funds for check-in calls for isolated seniors, money providing for emergency services, such as temporary housing, purchase of groceries and medicine for older adults, and additional resources for PSR’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman to help those in nursing and rehabilitation facilities communicate with their loved ones during quarantine. “These federal funds will not only help PSR meet its mission of advocating, advancing and achieving independence for the aging community, but help keep our older adults in this community well as we operate under the tight grip of COVID-19,” Miles said. “Our staff is willing and able to expand our services to more older adults. Though our offices are not open to the public, our staff members are working full time for the aging community using more innovation and novelty now more than ever.” For more information on PSR’s programming and services, call 1-434-767-5588 or email psr@psraaa.org. |
