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Have you visited Council on Aging lately? Spring flowers are blooming, the Butterfly Garden is full of life and our Seniors are enjoying our programs as never before. We have live music on some days, lunch outings and our famous (and quite lively!) Bingo games.  In Adult Day Healthcare, everyday is a new adventure.  This non-profit organization is a big part of our community not only in Fernandina Beach but in Hilliard, too. Our seniors are our family and yours too. Please keep us in mind when it comes time to make contributions and donations to the non-profits of your choice.

 

As part of the current class of Leadership Nassau, this group of hard working and dedicated local business people and Chamber of Commerce members spent the day serving their community. They chose our Council on Aging and spent a recent Saturday, power washing, mulching, painting, clipping bushes, and planting annuals. The COA would like to sincerely thank them for their selfless service and dedication to community. Their hard work really improved the appearance of both the interior and exterior of the Senior Center located in Fernandina Beach! For a larger gallery of our friends at Leadership Nassau hard at work, please visit our Facebook page HERE

Barton Cormier, a volunteer with our Council on Aging was the recipient of the 2012 Elsie Harper Volunteer Award. The award was given at the Nassau County Volunteer awards luncheon held on Thursday, April 11. Numerous public and private agencies were present at the annual luncheon held at the Nassau Recreation Center on Atlantic Avenue.  Congratulations to Mr. Cormier and ALL of the hardworking COA volunteers to do so much for our seniors.

The Walmart Foundation recently donated $25,000 towards the Council on Aging’s Meals on Wheels program that delivers hot and nutritious meals to homebound seniors throughout Nassau County.  In the above image, Janice Ancrum is flanked by Walmart store managers Eric Mosley (Fernandina Beach) and John Johnson (Yulee). The COA would like to thank Walmart for their continued support. If you would like to make a donation to COA, simply go to the COA main page and click on the Donate Tab at the top of the page.  For more information, call the COA at either of our locations 261-0701 (Fernandina Beach Senior Center) or 845-4491 (Hilliard Senior Center).

Janice Ancrum, COA’s Executive Director

 Nothing worth having in life comes without challenges. The same could be said of the Council on Aging of Nassau County. As the sun rises on 2013, I wanted to write a few paragraphs to outline some of the initiatives we are taking to update and streamline our COA.

One of the more painful adjustments I’ve had to make coming into 2013 is to reduce the staff to more accurately reflect our administrative budget. This is a big step on the road to fiscal responsibility and a necessary one to take, all while maintaining and enhancing our current programs and levels of service.

Fiscal cliff aside, one of the biggest challenges we have is to keep costs down, while offering our services to an ever-growing senior population. We are approaching this problem by working smarter and using our resources more wisely.

We have new updated network printers that feature very efficient printing capabilities. If you have bought ink cartridges for a desktop printer you know how expensive this can get. This one improvement will translate into cost savings of hundreds, possibly thousands of dollars a year.

Despite saving money by streamlining our administrative processes, additional revenue is the key to our continued success. Grants aimed at non-profits such as ours, is an area we will continue to research. Searching for these grants is time-consuming as you can imagine. We are hoping to find a grant writer with all the requisite skills to make this area of available revenue a mainstream part of the COA business plan.

One of the most ambitious projects that we hope to expand upon in 2013 is the construction of The Life Center on 14th Street in downtown Fernandina Beach. This is a huge project complete with huge logistical challenges. We’re confident that once this project gains some momentum, people will realize what an asset The Life Center will become in our community. With plenty of room for expanded activities for our seniors, and for other community events like weddings and club gatherings, this facility will be a welcome addition to both the Council on Aging AND the local community we move forward in 2013.

We ask for your continued support in 2013 and to hold hands with us as we embark on the next leg of our journey. Happy New Year!