Wellington Cares Helps Seniors ‘Age In Place’ By Deborah Welky
Wellington Cares, a community-based, nonprofit organization, coordinates volunteers of all ages to assist in helping senior citizens over age 65 remain in their homes with the support of the Wellington community. The organization was founded in 2012 by Kathy Foster, Wellington’s first mayor. “Four years ago this spring, I was in New York on vacation, and the cover of The New York Times asked, ‘What is a NORC?’” Foster recalled. Reading on, she learned about “Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities,” where seniors are able to remain in their homes and in their familiar neighborhoods because a host of short-term services are provided free of charge by volunteers. “My parents retired down here in the 1990s, so I had been through the aging 114
january 2015 | wellington the magazine
process with them in a full lifecare facility, offering independent living options to full nursing care,” Foster said. “Personally, I couldn’t see myself or other Baby Boomers looking to make a choice like that. I felt that we would be looking for something different.” In order to come up with “something different,” Foster invited seven friends to lunch, explaining her idea to provide short-term, non-medical services to retirees who wanted to “age in place.” Using volunteers, some of whom are retirees themselves, the group would engage participants before a crisis occurs
and respond to changing needs over time, coordinating with other support service programs and augmenting what was already available. Those seven friends became the core of what has become Wellington Cares. With Foster as executive director, the group spent two years studying NORCs around the U.S. (there aren’t very many), gathering demographics and completing the necessary paperwork to launch the nonprofit. In November 2012, Wellington Cares started providing services. As of now, more than 1,500 hours of volunteerism have been logged, with teens to grandfathers doing everything from fetching groceries to minor home repairs. Wellington Cares also provides in-home services such as laundry, meal