Spring 2010

In Spring 2010, the Grotta Advisory Council approved the following grants. We encourage our grantees and others interested in learning about these projects to contact the organizations listed below.

• FOCUS Hispanic Center for Community Development, Inc. — Wellness, Independence and Nutrition (WIN) Program:
  FOCUS will host health and exercise programs: twelve (12) healthy living workshops that will take place on a monthly basis at three (3) sites for two (2) hours per workshop. It will include chronic disease self-management skills training. Other education sessions will be led by UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School Department of Family Medicine residents. Lastly weekly (1½) one and a-half hour guided physical activities will be held. A total of 100 seniors will be helped.
  
  
• JCC of MetroWest — Volunteer Opportunities Program:
  The Center for Adult Enrichment will support for a Volunteer Coordinator to develop and run a Volunteer Opportunity Program. The Volunteer Coordinator will recruit, select, train, place, supervise and provide recognition for volunteers. Volunteers will assist in JCC and other community-based senior programs so the coordinator will seek to find meaningful and appropriate volunteer placements. The Coordinator will also continue to lead Move Today sessions with Seniors.
  
  
• JFS of MetroWest NJ — Enhancing the Elderlink Infrastructure:
  Jewish Family Service of MetroWest (JFS) is a comprehensive, non-discriminatory social service agency which hosts Elderlink, a “concierge-level” one-stop connection to eldercare resources, services and advice. This grant will enable staff at JFS to upgrade and improve the Elderlink technological infrastructure and its functionality, resulting in better-informed consumers who are then able to access local, regional and national resources..
  
  
• JFS of Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties — Seniors in Communities:
  Funds will support 1) in-home assessments of low income, culturally diverse frail elderly 2) development and implementation of Individualized care plans to improve quality of physical and mental health 3) matching seniors emotionally impacted by loneliness and isolation with volunteers who provide cognitive stimulation through home visits and participation with the senior in community activities, and 4) strengthening existing collaborations and develop new collaborations to promote referrals and enhanced continuum of service.
  
  
• JVS of MetroWest — Employment Assistance for Seniors:
  Funds will support JVS to provide career counseling and job search assistance for seniors age 65+ who seek to enter or re-enter the workforce due to the ongoing economic crisis. JVS also will conduct outreach to employers to create job opportunities for its clients over 65. This program will be an extension of a successful 2009 emergency initiative for people 65+ and builds on JVS's "Maturity Works" job placement program for mature workers, 50+.
  
  
• Montclair Arts Council — Silver Scribes:
  The Montclair Arts Council (MAC), an arts service organization, advocates for the arts, supports artists and arts and cultural organizations, and utilizes the arts to further economic development in Montclair. Funds will enable MAC to expand Silver Scribes to enhance self-expression, build self-esteem, create socialization opportunities, and improve quality of life. The sessions, led by trained professional teaching artists, will be assessed by rigorous tools.
  
  
• National Council of Jewish Women, Essex County Section — Telephone Reassurance Program:
  The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a non-sectarian grassroots organization of volunteers and advocates who turn progressive ideals into action. NCJW will expand a Telephone Reassurance Program from 10 volunteer callers that reach out to 16 homebound seniors weekly to touch base and offer a friendly voice of reassurance to a client base of 50 utilizing up to 25 volunteer callers.
  
  
• Overlook Hospital — Atlantic Neuroscience Institute Comprehensive Wellness Pilot Study:
  The pilot study will identify the impact Tai Chi/Qigong may have on patients with Parkinson's Disease, specifically related to balance, quality of life, mood and disease progression. The study’s findings will support the development of a fully integrated and multidisciplinary program, the first of its kind in the U.S. for patients with neurodegenerative diseases, designed to provide evidence-based wellness activities; medical services; resource referrals; and opportunities to participate in research studies for senior patients with chronic, progressive neurological diseases.

• SAGE Eldercare — Eldercare Planning and Guidance Program – Year 2:
  Funds will support SAGE Eldercare’s Eldercare Planning and Guidance program to utilize a nurse and two social workers to provide care planning and services focusing on seniors and their family’s personal needs and choices, support for caregivers, including access to educational programs and support groups; crisis intervention; information and referrals, assistance with Advanced Directives; support with medication management and increased prescription awareness, improved management of chronic conditions.