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Neil O introduced our speaker, Jerry Lawlor. Jerry is a member of the Rotary Club of Brantford - Sunrise and the Director of Revenue Development for Community Service Connections (CSC). He has spent his professional life helping charities raise money and market their brand. The CSC focuses primary on helping seniors live in their homes and community for as long as possible. They also support families and caregivers of seniors. Their four areas of service are: - Nutrition (including Meals on Wheels)
- Physical Health
- Social Well-being
- Health at Home.
Their Meals on Wheels program is their biggest one and it provides meals to seniors five days a week. While the meals are free, those who can afford to pay will pay anywhere from $4 to $17. Fitness classes and workshops are offered at 90 locations throughout Waterloo region. Follow-ups to seniors by way of visits and phone calls are done regularly along with outreach to caregivers and family members. Help with yardwork and snow shoveling as well as assisted and unassisted shopping are some of the other ways that enable seniors to continue living in their home rather than a long-term facility. The CSC operates on a 4.5 million dollar budget, financed by the Ministry of Health and private donors. Their biggest expenditure is their Meals on Wheels program and it exceeds the total cost of wages of their 85 employees (40 FT and 45 PT). The CSC currently has a fleet of 11 vehicles and they rely heavily on their 450-500 volunteers to deliver meals. As always, more help is needed and this is a great organization to support as a volunteer or as a donor. For more info on the CSC, visit Home - Community Support Connections Vanessa thanked today's speaker.
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