ISR CONNECTS - C3

Community Care Corps (C3) awards $150,000 to Island Senior Resources (ISR) to launch an Innovative Volunteer Model to support older adults, adults with disabilities, and family caregivers

Community Care Corps (C3) is pleased to announce the funding of 30 innovative local models nationwide, including ISR CONNECTS-C3, helping family caregivers, older adults, and adults with disabilities, using volunteer nonmedical assistance to maintain independence in their homes. Community Care Corps, funded by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is a partnership of three national nonprofit organizations: The Oasis Institute, Caregiver Action Network, and USAging.

Island Senior Services launches ISR CONNECTS-C3.

ISR CONNECTS-C3 will link participants with trained volunteer teams within communities across Whidbey Island to reduce social isolation and increase access to services.

IMAGINE…volunteers, ISR staff, neighbors, businesses, and organizations all coming together to provide social engagement opportunities and resources to seniors and disabled adults at their doorsteps and in their neighborhoods.

IMAGINE…volunteer teams facilitating neighbors coming together to share meals, visit a local art gallery, take a walk, celebrate a birthday, or enjoy a sunset.

IMAGINE…those same teams responding to the needs of participants by connecting them to local resources and professional services.

IMAGINE…together, we can address the challenges and share the joys of aging.

The success of ISR CONNECTS-C3 will be amplified with the participation of our entire community. We need 60-75 volunteers who love being socially active and around people of all ages and backgrounds. We need businesses who might offer discounts to our clients to share a cup of coffee or a meal with new friends. We need community organizations to share their social activities or educational opportunities with our teams. We need neighbors who might lend a hand to a yard cleanup or invite their older neighbors to a BBQ. Most importantly, we need 1,000 participants (self-identified or referred) who would benefit from and enjoy the personal engagement that ISR CONNECTS-C3 will offer.

ISR CONNECTS-C3 is an evidence-based model designed in response to the 2023 U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory of the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community. Per the U.S. Surgeon General, “Social connection is a significant predictor for longevity and better physical, cognitive, and mental health, while social isolation and loneliness are significant predictors of premature death and poor health.” ISR has learned – through its Meals on Wheels, Medical Transportation, Aging and Disability Resources, and Case Management programs – just how important human connection is to the health and well-being of Island County’s aging and vulnerable residents.