Announcing our 2021 Aging Well Whatcom grant awards!
We’re thrilled to share the recipients of our inaugural round of Aging Well Whatcom grants! Awarded through a collaborative process with AWW Steering Committee members, these grants will fund work being done in our community to support older adults in alignment with the AWW Blueprint focus areas.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a significant toll on our older adults, and we’re proud to be supporting these community partners working hard to ensure that Whatcom seniors receive the care, resources, and connections they need. Learn more about these programs below!
The “Mobile ANT” program connects youth with older adults in assisted care facilities throughout Whatcom County, providing visits with ANT’s therapy animals. Visits are held in-person when safe, and via “window visits” when physical distancing mandates are in place.
Blueprint focus areas: Wellness & healthcare; Intergenerational community
The “Mobile Office Rural Visit” program will bring the DSNW Mobile Office to communities outside of Bellingham, including the Lummi Nation, Blaine, Lynden, the Nooksack Tribe, Sumas, Kendall, Maple Falls, Glacier, Deming, Acme, Glenhaven, and Sudden Valley, to provide on-site dementia-related support and education.
Blueprint focus areas: Information & navigation services; Wellness & healthcare
The “Aging Well in East Whatcom County” program will provide older adults in the Mount Baker area with increased access to fresh locally produced food via the Twin Sisters Senior Farmers Market Program and a series of food, nutrition, and wellness-related workshops.
Blueprint focus areas: Wellness & healthcare
The “Ask a Nurse” program will provide a regular presence at the East Whatcom Regional Resource Center to provide preventive health education, resources, and referrals to older adults in the Mount Baker area.
Blueprint focus areas: Information & navigation services; Wellness & healthcare
The “Community Ally” program partners trained volunteers with individuals experiencing homelessness to help identify individual needs and work to meet those needs, and work towards stable, permanent housing.
Blueprint focus areas: Housing; Transportation; Information & navigation services
The Volunteer Center of Whatcom County (Opportunity Council)
The Center provides volunteer services to low-income seniors and people with disabilities, enabling them to stay in their homes. Services include delivery of food from the Bellingham Food Bank, providing medical transportation in partnership with the Northwest Regional Council, and providing Medicare advising through the SHIBA program.
Blueprint focus areas: Information & navigation services; Wellness & healthcare; Transportation
Whatcom Intergenerational High School
In line with their mission to bring communities together through learning, WIHS is creating an Intergenerational Equity Council, comprised of six Whatcom elders from diverse backgrounds, to advise WIHS staff, students, and Board.
Blueprint focus areas: Intergenerational community; Cultural shift
Your support makes it possible for us to do this work. Thank you!