Honor an Elder for Older Americans Month in May, sponsored by Portland General Electric, Providence Health & Services, and Wells Fargo.

May is Older Americans Month, a great time to honor a special someone in your life and to help Elders in Action ensure that the quality of life never depends on age. For every $25 you give, Elders in Action will send a handmade card to your honoree that recognizes the gift made in their honor.

Please join us in celebrating Older Americans month! Our generous sponsors have already honored their older adult patrons with $4,500 to support our Personal Advocate program.  You can help us reach our goal of  raising $6,000 during the month of May.

Did you know?

● Elders in Action’s Personal Advocate Services is the only program of its kind in Oregon! With over 150 volunteers, 81% who are boomers and beyond, we educate older adults on how to help their peers, while empowering them to help themselves.

● 2,655 individuals experiencing problems with housing, health care, crime, abuse, or fraud were assisted in FY 2011.

● In the past two years, Elders in Action Personal Advocate volunteers recouped $357,889 for seniors due to fraud, wrongful billing and other problems.

Honor Your Elder with a Happy Mother's Day card.

 

 

Honor An Elder for Mother’s Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrate Springtime by Honoring Your Elder

 

 

Celebrate Spring by Honoring An Elder

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honor Your Elder with a Memorial Day Rememberance

 

 

 

Honor An Elder for Memorial Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honor An Elder for Older Americans Month in May is sponsored by :

Elders in Action is looking for a visionary leader sought to head a well-established, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that the quality of life should never depend on age.

The candidate must have:

• A minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree, with experience and training in gerontology or a related field
• 5 years of non-profit management experience
• Proven ability to attract and inspire a large corps of high level volunteers
• A reputation as a manager who creates a dynamic work environment for staff
• The leadership skills to take the organization’s reputation as a local and national voice for older adults to the next level

Competitive salary and full benefits. Application process:  By 5 pm April 20, 2012 submit to edsearch@eldersinaction.org a resume, cover letter, 3 professional references, and a 2-paragraph response to one of the following questions:

1. What excites you about working on behalf of older adults?
2. What do you think are key components of an environment attractive to highly skilled volunteers
3. What would you wish to create to enrich the lives of older adults?

Additional details are:

Working in conjunction with the Board of Directors, sets the vision, tone and goals for serving a growing aging population by establishing effective partnerships with government agencies, organizations focused on aging, community and business leaders, and the general public.

Responsible for the overall direction and management of the organization, including planning, finance, program and fund development, and community relations.

Agency administration includes personnel management, fiscal and budget management, contract development, and facilities oversight.

Position serves as key development officer, including oversight of individual, major donor, corporate, government, special events and foundation support.

Examples of Work:

• Spearhead the annual planning and strategic direction process with staff and Board
• Identify funding opportunities from all sources.  Submit annual budget requests to local government agencies, and organize advocacy efforts to gain approval.
• Use all types of media to reach and engage a broad constituency.
• Manage and evaluate staff, and monitor multi-cultural and affirmative action goals.  Propose competitive salary ranges and staff levels to Board for approval.  Keep personnel policies up to date and propose new policies to the Board for approval as needed.
• Assure staff and volunteer support for the Board and its committees and for the Elders in Action Commission.
• Submit annual Agency budget for Board approval.  Monitor revenues and expenditures, fiscal controls, financial forecasts, and the audit process.  Report at each Board meeting on the financial status of the agency.  Execute and manage contracts and agreements on behalf of Elders in Action.
• Assess and identify community needs, opportunities, and challenges and develop strategic responses with the Board and the Commission.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to build and maintain collaborative partnerships with local and tri-county government officials and business leaders.
• A minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in gerontology or a related field; knowledge of the current trends, issues and challenges facing a growing aging population
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in upper level program administration in a non-profit organization
• Demonstrated skills in working with boards, commissions, advisory groups, and volunteers
• Ability to inspire and maintain the collaborative nature of the Elders in Action team.
• Demonstrated ability in and understanding of applying cultural competency.
• A track record in fund raising successes
• Experience in creating and implementing strategic plans that integrate an organization with public and private interests

The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners heard on March 13 how the Gatekeeper program since its inception in 1987 has trained an estimated 28,000 people to spot vulnerable people and to connect those people to help.

Among the people trained as Gatekeepers are utility employees, bank personnel, public employees, apartment and mobile home managers, letter carriers, police, firefighters, paramedics, Native American elders, neighbors and church members.

Those Gatekeepers in turn have made about 450 referrals per year of older adults and people with disabilities who may need help and support.

“We train people to watch for warning signs,’’ Aging and Disability Services program manager Paul Iarrobino said at the board presentation. “Our services are available 24-7. You call one phone number and we’re going to get that call where it needs to go.”

That phone number is 503-988-3646.

“They can make just one phone call and take just a few minutes out of their day,” Gatekeepers program coordinator Lynn Schemmer-Valleau said of participants. “In some cases you can literally save a life.”

Several of the program’s community partners also attested to the program’s value in helping to learn about older customers who are struggling, then connecting them with services they need.

Among the examples they cited was an instance in which an elderly widow called to report a power outage only to learn her PGE bills had gone unpaid because her late husband had been the one to pay the bills.

In that case with PGE’s help, the Gatekeeper program helped her to pay her bills and get service restored, said Cheri Hansen, who works in customer resources at PGE.

In another instance, branch officials at a US Bank realized after talking to an elderly woman who frequented their branch that she was in fact afraid to go home because a foster child was taking advantage of her financially after he returned from jail.

In that instance, with US Bank’s help, Gatekeepers helped the woman contact relatives to assist her and to return her abuser to jail, said Brad Crawford, manager of the US Bank branch on Northeast Martin Luther King Boulevard.

“We keep an eye out for the more vulnerable,” said James Cook, president of Branch 82 of the National Association of Letter Carriers–whose members know to spot warning signs like mail piling up for a customer. “The Gatekeeper program allows us to instantly make a phone call.”

County Commissioner Judy Shiprack said the program is especially important given that an estimated 84 percent of elder abuse cases go unreported.

And Shiprack added that the program exemplifies a county theme in which the county is a convener in collaboration with a community eager to carry out efforts that benefit the community.

“We have a community,” she said, “that wants to help.”