Summary
Organization name
North Fork Senior Connections
2019
Tax id (EIN)
84-2118609
Category
Human Services
Organization Size
Small Organization
Address
108 Third StPAONIA, CO 81428
Mailing
PO Box 1738Paonia, CO 81428
Delta County, CO, US
North Fork Senior Connections
A nonprofit organization
$2,482 raised by 13 donors
50% complete
$5,000 Goal
North Fork Senior Connections
ADDRESSING FOOD INSECURITY FOR NORTH FORK SENIORS
Each year NF Senior Connections works with local farmers, food producers and caterers to deliver nourishing foods to home bound, isolated and/or food insecure seniors. We organize a team of volunteers to prepare and deliver food to senior households through the valley; a farmshare of fresh produce during the growing season and nutritious soups and stews over the winter months. These weekly visits also provide important social contact for home bound seniors.
SUPPORTING INDEPENDENT LIVING
Senior Connections was established with the core purpose of assisting seniors to live independently in their own homes as long a possible. To that end, we organize a large cadre of community volunteers, in the spring and fall of each year, to assist rural seniors with seasonal home maintenance chores. Tasks range from raking leaves, cleaning gutters and pruning vegetation to washing windows and preparing swamp coolers for the coming season. Entire families, active adults and students work together to help their neighbors age in place and in community. Our Handy Helpers program is an extension of these services, providing similar services on an "on-call" basis.
NEIGHBORLY RIDES
Our rural valley has no public transportation, and this presents a serious obstacle for seniors needing to get to medical appointments, do grocery shopping or attend senior programs. Our "Neighborly Rides" provides a hotline seniors can call to schedule free transportation for such needs. Rides are provided by volunteers and have the added benefit of social connections for both parties.
ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS
Senior Connections partners with the Paonia Senior Center, Delta County Libraries and other venues to offer a wide variety of programming to combat social isolation, provide personal enrichment, and foster connections within our community. Seniors gather regularly for singing, sewing, book discussions, meditation, memoir writing, gardening education, therapeutic movement, pot luck lunches and other activities.
SENIOR CONNECTIONS NEWSLETTER
Each month, Senior Connections staff prepares a newsletter of helpful information, thoughtful articles, and a calendar of upcoming programs, classes and events sponsored by NFSC and other local organizations. This newsletter goes out to hundreds of seniors throughout the valley, alerting them to senior meals programs, free senior movies, exercise classes, book groups, walking clubs, and a range of other programs and activities available in our community.
Giving Activity
Mission
Our mission is to organize volunteers, in North Fork Valley communities, to provide programming and services to enable seniors to age in place and in community.
Background Statement
North Fork Senior Connections is a locally run non-profit operating throughout the North Fork Valley of Western Colorado. Our area has a much higher population of seniors than the state average and a higher poverty rate among that senior population. We are a rural, agricultural community, with 100-year-old ranches, farms and orchards. Many of the seniors in this valley have lived here all their lives, and while they may have a home, many no longer have family nearby to assist them. Our communities are scattered and there is no public transportation linking us to larger towns for shopping or healthcare. Isolation and lack of transportation is a serious obstacle to seniors wishing to age in place. It is our mission to rally the community to provide essential services so seniors can remain in their homes and continue to be connected to the surrounding community. Our business model is to provide programs and services free of charge, to make them accessible to all in need. We recruit a large cadre of volunteers ranging from high school students, local adults and businesses, to active seniors moving to this area to retire. The community response to our organization has been excellent, and several local businesses and agricultural organizations are now donating fresh, local and nutritious food, which our volunteers then distribute to low income seniors. We have recently established a "Neighborly Rides" program to ensure seniors have transportation for doctors appointments and other needs.
Campaigns supporting this organization
Media gallery
Organization Data
PAONIA, CO 81428
Paonia, CO 81428