The Council on Aging will host our 7th annual Fall Celebration for benefit of COA services to the community.  For 35 years we have been committed to providing our ever growing senior population in Nassau County the services they need and deserve.  You will help us achieve that goal by your generous support of this special evening!  Sponsorships in the range of $ 250 – $ 1,000 + are available.  Silent and live auction items are most appreciated, too.  Your sponsorship is recognized in our program and throughout the evening.  Our special event includes cocktails, dinner, dancing and music entertainment, with live auction hosted by Aaron Bean. Given the special once-in-a-century date of 10-10-10, Felix and Chandra Solis will be featured with a dance exhibition just for you!

What: Fall Celebration (10-10-10)

When: October 10, 2010

Time: 5:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Where: Amelia Island Plantation

Price: $75.00 per person

Tickets available by calling Stella Aukland at the COA, 904-261-0701 ext. 112, or from Board and Advisory Council members, at UPS, Golf Club of Amelia, Chamber of Commerce, and Tourism Depot.

Come and enjoy a night of dining and dancing while helping to meet a critical need in our community!

Providing essential food and other crucial services to so many deserving seniors takes many helpful and caring volunteers. This team effort results in an invaluable service to some of our community’s most vulnerable seniors. Whether they are living on fixed incomes or recovering from hospitalization, Meals on Wheels recipients deserve adequate nutrition, security, and comfort – ensured by a visit from the friendly face and kind words of someone who cares. Our volunteers come from all walks of life: 30% from local businesses and corporations, 30% from faith-based and civic organizations, 25% retired residents and the remaining 15% stay-at-home parents or students.

Meals on Wheels programs in rural areas face a unique challenge such as time, distance, cost and labor. In addition, seniors living in rural communities are more likely than others to “age in place”. The need for services is beginning to outpace the capacity to meet it. The combination of the time it takes to make deliveries, the distances to be traveled, and the size of the volunteer workforce involved in delivering meals is creating a situation where the need for more volunteers is critical.

One of our Council on Aging Senior Centers is located in Hilliard and the meals for residents on the Westside of Nassau County are distributed from there. We currently have a critical need to cover 3 Callahan routes which require deliveries 1 day a week to 35 people and 1 Bryceville route that makes deliveries to 13 people every other week. If you are interested in becoming one of our volunteers, please contact Linda Rogers or Michele Martin @ 845-3331. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Susan Parry, Coordinator

Development & Community Relations

The population of seniors requiring services is growing at a dramatic rate in Nassau County. The best projections available predict that people over 65 years old in our county will reach over 30% of the total population in the foreseeable future. More telling is that the rate of growth of people most vulnerable and in need of services – those over 80 years of age – will increase at an alarming rate.

The increased number of clients and the hours of service provided by the COA is already experiencing significant growth over last year at the same time. This increase in demand is overwhelming the facilities available to provide these services. The diversity of our clients is requiring more flexible space for activities in our Senior Centers.

The COA has enjoyed over 35 years in the Fernandina Beach Senior Center leased from Baptist Medical Center Nassau, but now finds it necessary to relocate as additional plans are being made for the current location as the hospital expands.

In response to the increased demand, the COA Board of Directors has undertaken the design (featured above) that will provide a dramatic increase in both the quality and quantity of services provided to clients in East Nassau Co. This venture will relocate the facility to a site owned by the County and leased to COA for the purpose of building a state-of-the-art Senior Life Center for the citizens of Nassau County to enjoy for years to come.

We currently have 87 people who are on a “wait-list” for our programs and services. Some may remain on the “wait-list” for up to one year. They have identified two emergency response units (the Guardian Alert 911 and the X-10 Personal Alert Voice Dialer) that can be purchased and used in a senior’s home, but that do not require a monthly fee for services. The unit selected for use depends on the specific needs and abilities of the senior.

There are many different circumstances contributing to the need for a medical alert system. If someone is at risk of losing their independence, their opportunity to make choices, or they are alone for any part of the day or night, they are candidates for a personal alert system. By providing them with an alternative response unit, we are giving them a sense of not just being on a forgotten list of people waiting for funding. We are able to “bridge the gap” while they await our services and know that they will be safe in their own home.

The Circle of Friends has been visiting local services groups, such as Rotary and Civitans, the Newcomer’s Club, women’s clubs and churches to make them aware of the need and how their donations can help. They purchase, install and educate the senior and their family about the use of the unit. Since 2007, they have purchased and installed 21 units, thus removing those folks from the “wait-list”. However, the specific needs of 87 seniors is still of serious concern to the COA, their families and the local emergency response units such as fire and police.

A team of three people are trained to do the install and training in the home of the senior recipient. Three more volunteers are currently being trained. So, once the units are received by COA, the senior is contacted and the install is generally completed within the month.

Support the Nassau County Council on Aging and attend the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open! Just follow this link to purchase tickets online. 100% of your ticket purchase goes to support the COA. Free on-site parking, and free TPC  Sawgrass Clubhouse access with all tickets!