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Guest Post: Seabury Resources for Aging

Since 1924, Seabury Resources for Aging has provided personalized, affordable services and housing options to help older adults in the greater Washington, DC area live with independence and dignity. Offering 355 units of the most affordable senior housing around, Seabury is dedicated to low-income seniors and those in need of assisted living in Greater Washington. Its retirement community has served over 1,200 seniors in 35 years and offers volunteer opportunities, activities, meals and even a hair salon for residents.

The following post comes from Seabury’s blog — check it out and learn about a great way to give back to the community through in-kind giving. This post was written by Monise W. Quidley, CFRE, the Director of Development for Seabury Resources for Aging.

Got Gifts?

The other day I was cleaning out my closet and garage (one of those must-do New Year’s resolution things) and was pretty amazed at some of the things I found. There were the usual suspects, the things with stains and that were broken, things “toooooo” small, things outdated, and those other things I just didn’t like or want. But what was so surprising, in the middle of all of the mess, I was finding lots of loot that still had tags and/or were brand new in the box items. Once looked at and never used items in pristine condition.

I guess in my best “thank you for the gift”, “this is exactly what I wanted”, “oh how beautiful” spirit, I had planned to re-gift some of those items. Nice things, just not necessarily for me. While taking a break, and drinking some sweet iced tea, it dawned on me. I can put these new, in the box, never been used gifts to a good use. I would give them to my favorite charity.

Most nonprofits have a great need for such things to use with and for their clients and staff as well as creating a beautiful basket for their silent auction or banquet event. So I decided I would start with Seabury and donate some of my findings, perfumes, baskets, art work, purses, cutlery, vases, and jewelry to name a few to our upcoming Leadership in Aging Celebration on June 6th. Can’t wait to see how nice my items will look all dressed up and ready to be auctioned. This is a terrific way to help a charity and also get credit for an in-kind donation which is tax-deductible.

Maybe my New Year’s resolution will inspire you (and your family and friends) to consider donating some of your brand new and stuck in-the-back-of-the-closet items to your favorite charity. If you would like to help Seabury Resources for Aging, please send me an email (mquidley@seaburyresources.org) and I’ll make the most of your unwanted items by giving them new life and making someone else happy during the silent and live auctions at our reception. Remember, one man or woman’s trash is another man or woman’s treasure!

As mentioned in Seabury’s blog post, in kind donations can be used for Seabury’s Leadership in Aging Celebration on June 6th. The Seabury Leadership in Aging Celebration is Seabury’s signature event featuring the presentation of this year’s recipients of the Seabury Leadership in Aging Awards. The Awards are given to honor outstanding service to older adults in the greater Washington, DC area and nationally.

Previous honorees include Stuart Rosenthal, publisher and editor of The Beacon Newspapers, The Medical House Call Program at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; David N. Gamse, Executive Director, Jewish Council for the Aging; Steve Gurney, Founder and Publisher, Guide to Retirement Living SourceBook; Vera Waltman Mayer, Coordinator Emeritus of the DC Long Term Care Coalition; Dr. J.C. Hayward, Vice President for Media Outreach, WUSA9TV to name a few.

For more information on volunteering or donating to nonprofits like Seabury that serve the elderly, check out Catalogue’s online catalogue here.

In The News …

Commentary: DC Council Should Support Grandparent Caregiver Program (WAMU): “The proposal before the DC Council is a small, but important, change to the Grandparent Caregiver Program, a program that provides financial support to low-income grandparents who are raising their grandchildren,” says Judith Sandalow, the executive director of the Children’s Law Center. At present, the subsidy starts starts only after the child has lived with their grandparents for six months; the proposal would permit the city to waive that requirement and “children who are being removed from their parents and are at risk of entering foster care could immediately go to live with their grandparents.”

Ward 8 parents, teachers challenge DC school closure plan (Washington Post: Schools Insider): “A standing-room only crowd of parents, teachers and activists gathered Tuesday evening at Savoy Elementary School in Southeast Washington to critique and challenge Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s plan to close 20 under-enrolled schools.” Principal concerns included the quality of transitions for students from one school to another and the reinvestment goals for the money saved from closures. “The community meeting was the first of four scheduled over the next week;” the meeting for Wards 1-4 and 6 is coming up tomorrow.

The Risks of Limiting Charitable Deductions (Nonprofit Quarterly): “In his Urban Institute blog, The Government We Deserve, the Tax Policy Center’s Gene Steuerle looks to the past to auger the future of charitable deductions reiterates the argument that limiting charitable deductions will dampen giving, which threatens nonprofit coffers and ultimately hurts those who benefit from programs and services provided by the sector [...] The Wall Street Journal reports that “there is no specific plan to eliminate deductions for charitable giving” in the ongoing haggling over the fiscal cliff. There are, however, proposals to cap overall deductions.” What do you think about a possible cap, and does the amount or the mere existence of it matter more? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Aging At Home

From “A Shift From Nursing Homes to Managed Care at Home” in the New York Times:

Faced with soaring health care costs and shrinking Medicare and Medicaid financing, nursing home operators are closing some facilities and embracing an emerging model of care that allows many elderly patients to remain in their homes and still receive the medical and social services available in institutions. [...]

In the newer model, a team of doctors, social workers, physical and occupational therapists and other specialists provides managed care for individual patients at home, at adult day-care centers and in visits to specialists. Studies suggest that it can be less expensive than traditional nursing homes while providing better medical outcomes. [...]

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