Diakon Adult Day Services at Manatawny receives grant from home care foundation

Pottstown, Pa (Wednesday October 14, 2015)

Diakon Adult Day Services at Manatawny has received a nearly $5,000 grant from the Home Instead Senior Care Foundation to assist in providing day care for older adults with lower incomes.

“This grant, which we deeply appreciate, will be used to subsidize the cost of day care for a number of older adults who are currently awaiting financial assistance from the county or state,” says Gina Cooke, director of the day care center.

The $4,940 grant, she adds, will allow the program to provide services, at two days per week, to people waiting for governmental funding approval. “We have had people wait three to six months for assistance approval in the past, so you can immediately see the importance and impact of this grant.”

Diakon Adult Day Services provides daytime assistance to older adults and those with disabilities, allowing clients to remain in their homes or with family members at other times of the day. The local program is one of 12 organizations receiving grant funding from Home Instead Senior Care Foundation for the fall 2015 grant cycle.

“Our mission is very similar to Diakon Adult Day Services, as we both enhance the lives of aging adults and those who care for them,” says Roger H. Baumgart, executive director of the foundation. “We are pleased to provide grant funding to Diakon Adult Day Services for making a positive difference in the safety, well-being and independence of older adults,” he adds.

The foundation has been helping vulnerable aging adults since 2003, granting nearly $2 million to nonprofits serving older adults in the U.S. and Canada. This type of funding is important, foundation executives indicate, because only 2 percent of funding from the nation’s largest grant makers is specifically focused on the needs of seniors, even though the nation’s older population will double by 2030.

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For further information, please contact:
William Swanger, M.A., APR
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications
Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries
(717) 795-0308
E-mail: swangerb@diakon.org