National Community Care Corps Grant will help Arlington, VA older adults and family caregivers

Arlington Neighborhood Village (ANV) announces its selection by the Community Care Corps to receive funds in support of its  mission to help older adults in Arlington age in place safely, while remaining connected to their  community. The grant award of $30,000 is for the period of October 1, 2021, through  September 30, 2022.  

ANV is among the awardees of the highly competitive national Community Care Corps Program.  This new program will provide much-needed funding to support older adults with non-medical  assistance. With these grant funds, ANV will be able to help more local older adults and their  families realize their wish to remain in their own homes as they age, as well as provide  volunteers with meaningful ways to serve our community.  

ANV is partnering with two affordable housing providers, Culpepper Garden and Arlington  Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH), to bring village services to their residents. ANV’s  goal is to help more lower-income and diverse seniors to age in place successfully by providing  direct volunteer services, reducing social isolation, and working to strengthen existing volunteer  programs. ANV will work with its partners to identify older adult residents who need extra help  to age in place and use its volunteer-driven village model to deliver direct services and social  support.  

Jasmin Witcher, the Culpepper Garden development and communications director said, “We  are honored to partner with ANV to improve the lives of disadvantaged older adults in our  affordable senior housing community. ANV continuously supports older adults in Arlington to  age in place by meeting their social and personal needs.”  

Said Marquan Jackson, resident services director at APAH, “ANV, through its model of  neighbors-helping-neighbors, is doing the important work of addressing the practical and social  needs of seniors who wish to age in place in the Arlington community. Direct assistance from  ANV is helping APAH increase our focus on seniors who live in our communities.” 

Wendy Zenker, ANV’s Executive Director noted, “These grant funds will help ANV provide even  more older adults in Arlington with the “extra help” needed to stay in their homes and  community safely and with an improved quality of life.” In its most recent IMPACT report for  2020, ANV reports that it supported more than 300 members, fulfilled 1,890 requests, and its  volunteers donated 7,180 hours and drove more than 20,500 miles at their own expense.  Demand continues to grow for ANV services as more residents wish to age in place with  assistance from ANV and its network of volunteers. 

“We are pleased to make this award to ANV. Their excellent volunteer model was chosen over  other outstanding programs across the country,” said Paul Weiss, President of The Oasis  Institute which administers Community Care Corps. 

Community Care Corps grants are being awarded to local organizations across the country to  establish, enhance, and grow innovative volunteer models. Community Care Corps is granting  $2.85 million to 33 innovative local programs nationwide, including ANV. One hundred twenty six organizations from 40 states including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico requested  funding for their programs totaling more than $13,188,882. Community Care Corps was able to  award $2,850,750. 

Tens of millions of Americans are in need of non-medical assistance to continue living in their  homes. Many also need companionship to avert the devastating effects of isolation. The village  model is a promising, cost-effective option that uses volunteer support to help older adults age  in place safely and stay connected to their communities. 

Community Care Corps, through a cooperative agreement with the federal Administration for  Community Living (ACL), is led by four national non-profit organizations: The Oasis Institute,  Caregiver Action Network, USAging, and Altarum. For more information about Community Care  Corps and a list of the 2021 grantees, please visit www.communitycarecorps.org.

For additional Information contact: Wendy Zenker, wendyzenker@arlnvil.org  or 703-509-8057

www.arlnvil.org