NextFifty Initiative has announced $120,642 in grants to five organizations in Central Colorado, including two operating in Chaffee County, that are working work to improve the lives of older adults and their caregivers.
NextFifty Initiative, which funds game-changing efforts to improve and sustain the quality of life for people in their second 50 years, announced a total of $7.7 million in grants to similar organizations around Colorado and across the United States. Sixty-three percent of the total dollars were awarded to Colorado organizations.
“Organizations serving older adults have consistently told us that flexible funding is the most helpful and beneficial to their work,” said Chandra Matthews, Director of Programs for NextFifty. “But it’s also the most difficult to obtain. Our flexible support grant opportunity was created to make it easier for organizations to build their capacity, apply funds where they’re needed most, and focus their efforts on the older adults they serve.”
The organizations that received funds serve older adults in a variety of categories including caregiver support, community life, elder justice, health, housing, multi-generational support, social services, technology, transportation, and workforce and employment.
Central Colorado recipients include:
- A $25,000 grant to the Teller Senior Coalition will support the organization’s efforts to supply transportation, home-delivered meals, case management, respite, homemaking, handyman services and reassurance calls.
- Senior Services Solutions Plus (SSSP) will use its $15,725 grant to provide medical and dental transportation for older adults in Fremont County. SSSP offers transportation to individuals for appointments in Pueblo and Colorado Springs at no cost. The organization also ensures that older adults are aware of the time and location for their appointments. The NextFifty funds will help with the cost of fuel and vehicle maintenance.
- A $30,000 grant to the Summit County Community & Senior Center, which serves 1,500 older adults, will support medical transportation, bilingual caregiver support groups, and a meal delivery program.
The Alliance will use its $25,000 grant to improve the accessibility of its website and office as well as create marketing materials that are more welcoming to older adults. For nearly 40 years, The Alliance has empowered individuals beyond domestic and sexual violence in Chaffee, Fremont, and Saguache counties through services, advocacy, education, and social change. The Alliance is seeking to increase older adult participation in its services by at least 25 percent.
- Ark Valley Helping Hands (AVHH) in Chaffee County will use its $24,917 grant to continue supporting older adults with independence at home as well as connectivity to the local community. AVHH provides rides to medical appointments, prescription pickup, and grocery delivery through vetted volunteers. AVHH also provides basic in-home tasks that allow older adults to live independently.
About NextFifty Initiative
Next 50 Initiative Courtesy logo
NextFifty Initiative is a Colorado-based, private foundation funding efforts to improve the lives of older adults and their caregivers. The foundation works with community leaders, experts in the field of aging, and front-line professionals to support programs and projects that positively impact aging and longevity. They focus on education, sharing best practices, and supporting innovation that will transform aging for generations to come. In 2021, NextFifty Initiative awarded grants totaling roughly $12 million. To learn more, visit www.Next50Initiative.org.
If Chaffee honestly wants to improve lives they should stop allowing businesses to mob out residents by making their lives miserable doing things such as parking semis and idling overnight beside our homes without consequence for days, or parking RV’s beside our neighborhoods who come with generators and barking dogs to deprive our sleep and literally bully us more because of our complaints of their violation of the law. Because it is us complaining they are allowed to violate the law and do physical harm to a person who has seizures from the noise and lack of sleep. Nobody really cares about the older residents or the middle aged residents. They simply want us to leave our home of four decades because the lack the courage to enforce laws here to keep us safe. Parking closer to the epileptic and idling for longer than the required 12 hours is obviously bullying by the red semi who terrorizes our community with his engine brake for entertainment. Nobody cares about anything but gobbling up grant money and doing no good. They may as well just put down us disabled because it is kinder than allowing death by bully.