Local Nonprofits Benefit from Carol Woods Grants
March 9, 2022 -
From the day the first residents moved into Carol Woods in 1979, they were an integral part of the larger Chapel Hill community. One of our purposes has always been to improve the lives of older adults regardless of where they live.
This commitment to support community organizations was affirmed twenty years ago when the North Carolina General Assembly passed a law establishing that if a nonprofit Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) annually contributes 5% of net resident revenues from its operating budget toward social accountability, the CCRC would be 100% property-tax-exempt for the following year.
Last year, Covid kept the beneficiaries from being with us on campus. This year it was Omicron that precluded their coming. However, representatives from ten groups were able to join us on video and told us what the Carol Woods grants have done for their programs and how they plan to use them this year.
This year’s grants were divided into four categories and given to 14 nonprofit community organizations.
General Aging Services and Support
A Helping Hand: This nonprofit homecare agency promotes independence among older populations and those with disabilities. Its $40,000 grant will be used to increase services to low-income seniors in Orange, Chatham, and Durham counties.
LeadingAge Foundation: Its Vision Fund focuses on diversity and inclusion as well as leadership development to address effects of Covid on older people who have been disproportionately impacted. Grant amount is $10,000.
Local Start Dental: This nonprofit dental clinic saw 165 patients who needed tooth replacements last year. Often adults with missing teeth are treated as second-class citizens. The $10,000 grant will be used to maintain their dental clinic, which serves the elderly, poor, impoverished veterans, minorities, disabled, homeless, and underinsured.
Orange County: The county typically applies funds to the Department on Aging’s Master Aging Plan. The grant of $175,000 returns to our preCOVID-19 amount.
Senior PharmAssist: This nonprofit provides financial assistance for medicines, medication-therapy management, and Medicare counseling for older adults. This year, the $10,000 grant will help implement a new initiative that includes reassurance “check-in” calls. In addition, the funds will provide over 1400 face masks and 200 thermometers and will maintain a comprehensive central database of available resources.
Town of Carrboro: The $5,000 grant supports the town’s Active Life Program for older adults, including wellness classes, social events, and new cultural arts programs. This funding will allow the expansion of their programming to better serve the citizens of Carrboro and Orange County.
Workforce Development in Aging Services
Hope Renovations: Carol Woods was one of the first community partners for this 2020 startup that trains women in the building trades. The women are divided into two crews who do inside and outside repair work that allows older adults to age in place. In 2021, they concentrated on urgent repairs such as plumbing and heating. In the past two years, they have graduated 31 women in the Women’s Trade Program. They are about to add a third crew and hope to double the number of graduates in the Program and to increase the homeowners served by one-third. This year they received a $20,000 grant.
Orange Enterprises (OE): This nonprofit agency provides training to persons with disabilities, including seniors. Our $5,000 grant will assist with job development, class fees and coaching, and transportation.
UNC Geriatric Fellows: This annual recurring gift of $46,200 supports the training at Carol Woods of geriatric fellows from the UNC Division of Geriatric Medicine. This training includes teaching the skills needed to care for older adults in the following settings: outpatient clinic, assisted living, and skilled nursing. The instruction is a required component of the UNC fellowship curriculum.
UNC School of Nursing: For the past several years, Carol Woods has supported collaboration between the UNC School of Nursing and our nursing staff in assisted and skilled nursing with a recurring grant of $15,000. Last year, nurse practitioner students had an opportunity to do a clinical rotation, and other nursing students spent 300 hours researching quality-improvement measures that could be applied at Carol Woods.
Food Security for Older Adults
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Meals on Wheels: This $32,000 grant helps subsidize meals for those who cannot afford the full price. Currently only 10% pay the full fee and 50% pay less than $.50 a meal. There is a growing number of people who are in need of this service.
Affordable Housing for Older Adults
Habitat for Humanity: The Carol Woods grant of $10,000 is going to the Home Preservation Program to rehabilitate neighborhoods. Initially, Habitat spent money on improving the outsides of homes, but has since focused on critical repairs and modifications such as accessibility ramps, modified bathrooms, etc. This grant will fund the completion of two to three home renovations this year. Habitat has reached a milestone: they have repaired and preserved 200 homes since 2010.
Town of Chapel Hill: Carol Woods has supported the development of affordable housing in Chapel Hill for the past eight years. The initial grant in 2014 was for $100,000 and has dropped incrementally to its current level of $40,000 a year. Funding this year will support development of affordable senior housing.
CEO Discretionary Fund Grants
In addition to those described above, seven smaller grants were made from the CEO’s Discretionary Fund:
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation: Sponsorship of the Walk for Education
Community Empowerment Fund: Sponsorship of Piggy-Bank Fundraiser to support people who are at risk of homelessness (including seniors)
Friends of Residents in Long Term Care: Sponsorship of the annual fundraising gala
Habitat for Humanity: An additional grant to support Hillsborough Senior Housing
Inter-Faith Council for Social Service: Supports adults (including seniors) who are dealing with homelessness, food insecurity, and other challenges
Orange County Living Wage: Supports the jobs board and certificate program for the 230 certified employers in the community
Orange Literacy: Provides instructional materials to tutors and students (including Carol Woods staff)