Sharecare faith in action, a non-sectarian nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide compassionate and practical services to the elderly and those with special needs is proposing to…

Sharecare faith in action, a non-sectarian nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide compassionate and practical services to the elderly and those with special needs is proposing to continue as the provider of rsvp services in lehigh, northampton and carbon counties in pennsylvania. An estimated 420 rsvp volunteers will serve through a network of stations (non-profit agencies or proprietary health facilities) which will offer a broad base of service opportunities for persons 55 and older. Of this number, at least 147 will be placed in outcome assignments. Their assignments will be services that help keep seniors living safely in the home of their choice for as long as possible. The services provided by volunteers will include: supporting home-delivered meals programs, transportation, grocery shopping assistance, companionship and other in-home supports. Our primary focus area will be healthy futures - aging in place. We will focus our efforts to place 147 rsvp volunteers in programs that assist older adults and individuals with disabilities to live independently by helping them with access to home-delivered food, transportation and other services. Additionally, since our united way invests in strategies that align to key partnerships and coalitions working to advance critical outcomes, there are opportunities and needs for volunteers in meeting two other bold goals - to reduce the number of people who are food insecure by 50% and to have all third graders reading on grade-level. Rsvp, as a key partner, will engage volunteers in activities that help our region achieve those goals. Rsvp will place volunteers in local programs such as emergency and choice food pantries that help alleviate food insecurity and also place volunteers in community schools in the allentown, bethlehem and easton school districts to work with at risk elementary students needing mentoring/tutoring and homework help to improve math and/or reading skills and school attendance. Rsvp of lehigh, northampton and carbon counties will be open to all people age 55 and over in our service area. Rsvp will continue to mobilize people age 55 and older to serve in a diverse range of volunteer activities that help meet local community needs which include: counselling consumers about health insurance and other benefits; providing services and service opportunities to veterans, military and their families; assisting area non-profits that need help leveraging resources to keep pace with increased demands for services. The 147 rsvp members serving as volunteers in our primary focus area of healthy futures: aging in place - by providing services such as transportation, meal delivery, grocery shopping assistance, and other in-home supports - will help meet the needs of senior citizens who want to and can remain in their homes with the help of assistance services. Through deep partnerships and an increasingly aligned community, we are making significant achievements across the region. Over the past 4 years, we have achieved the goal we set of 50% of the at-risk population of seniors meeting their basic needs at home. However, 40,000 valley residents will become seniors by 2025 so needs and opportunities will continue to grow and emerge. The lehigh valley alliance on aging developed a plan to make our region age-friendly. Age-friendly communities are designated places where all people, including seniors, have the resources in place to lead strong lives and remain healthy at home. To achieve the status of an age-friendly community will require additional volunteers to provide assistance services so seniors can age-in-place. At the end of the three-year grant, at least 90% of the seniors who are surveyed will report that, with the help of assistance services provided by rsvp volunteers, they experienced an increase of social support and this support makes IT possible for them to remain in their home. The cncs federal investment of $147,000 will be