Elderly Services

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Middlebury—For more than 20 years, Elderly Services has been offering an array of community programs featuring local experts, various Middlebury College professors, authors and others through our Lifelong Learning program, ESI College.

Now, however, thanks to a generous grant from the Vermont Community Foundation, the upcoming summer series has a new lease on life and a new focus.

New ESI Focus: "Climate Change Conversation"--

Over the next year, ESI College will have a focus on Climate Change, thanks to an Environmental Justice grant from the Vermont Community Foundation according to ESI Executive Director, Kristin Bolton. "As we saw last summer, with the wildfire smoke, windstorms, extreme heat, and floods, the effects of climate change are being felt in Vermont. Older people can be some of the most vulnerable to climate crises due to health and technology limitations, and yet are not always part of the conversations at a local level," she said. Five of the twelve programs deal with various aspects of climate change and are being called the "Climate Change Conversations" within the larger series.

"The goal of the Climate Change Conversations is to provide education and engagement on environmental and climate initiatives locally and globally, and to have older voices be heard, from the classroom to the statehouse," Bolton said.

"Classes in climate change range in scope from the international to the very local, including: Professor Jess L'Roe's research on the effect of tree planting in Uganda; the innovative work of New Perennials to re-imagine agriculture and education; NOAA's Scott Whittier talking about Vermont weather and how it has changed; Bill Schubart's class on understanding how Vermont government works; and Jay Leshinsky's talk on power of gardens to create community" she added.

A Return of "ESI College Favorites"--

"Along with the environmental focus, the ESI College summer series will also offer classes on past favorite topics, including Robert Wyatt's very engaging musical storytelling, Russ Leng's brilliant historical political perspective, Caleb Kenna's awe-inspiring photographs of Vermont, Matt Dickinson's incisive analysis of the upcoming election, and book groups with Elise Blair and Michael Thomas," ESI College Coordinator, Justus Sturtevant, said. "What we have heard over and over again from past ESI College participants is how much they love the more informal and organic learning opportunities rather than a more formal curriculum-based approach," he added.

More detailed information on all 12 programs, including online registration, can be found at the Elderly Services website at www.elderlyservices.org.

MIDDLEBURY — Elderly Services Inc. (ESI) is set to launch a special fund drive to support an approximately $3 million capital project to address sorely needed upgrades to the roof, insulation, mechanical systems and other elements of its nearly 20-year-old building at 112 Exchange St. in Middlebury.

Ron Hallman, ESI spokesman, said the nonprofit has begun reaching out to some of its larger potential donors, while assembling a 700-piece mailing that will be sent to anyone who's donated during the past few years.

Elderly Services is home to the Project Independence adult day program, which helps people age in place with activities, nursing, social work support, home cooked meals, and strong social connections.
According to ESI Executive Director Kristin Bolton, key goals of the project include making the building more energy efficient, improving air quality for program participants and significantly reducing operating expenses over time.

"Our organization has been blessed by generous community support for years, and we are hoping that many of our long-term friends, as well some of our newer friends, will be excited to help us accomplish our ambitious goals," she said.

The project has several interconnected parts including insulation of the attic space and sides of the building, replacing the roof and siding, replacing the aging air conditioning unit and propane boilers with a geothermal heat pump, and adding solar panels to the roof to generate additional electricity needs.
Hallman said the goal is to complete the project by the end of this year.

Elderly Services has been awarded a grant of $1,785,000 by the Vermont Agency of Human Services Home and Community Based Services Grant Program. The grant falls within the Infrastructure Improvement category and will fund a project entitled "Revitalizing Project Independence Adult Day Center for the next 20 years — improving air quality, comfort and financial stability."

The grant will cover the majority of the project expense, but ESI is planning to use some organizational funds and donations to close the gap. Hallman said ESI is hoping for at least $200,000 in capital donations/pledges "above and beyond" what its local supporters give each year for the organization's current operations.

"At the end of this work, participants at Project Independence will experience greater comfort in the air quality as well as the temperature in the building. The frail people we serve are more sensitive to temperature fluctuations and air quality. This is an important factor in their quality of life and their health every day," Bolton said.

For more information about the project and everything ESI, go to elderlyservices.org.