Boards, Councils, and Commissions

GrandInvolve brings older adults into Fairfax County’s Title I Elementary Schools to volunteer in individual classrooms, offering their skills and talents to work directly with students. GrandInvolve volunteers regularly work in their assigned schools and engage in a variety of helpful activities designed by the teachers. They work directly with students either individually or in small groups. They assist with reading and math, material preparation, library services, mentoring, kindergarten readiness and after school programs. They frequently assist with evening activities. All these activities support the goal of improving school success for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) students. Each school which hosts the GrandInvolve program provides a staff member (usually a guidance counselor) who places each volunteer with a teacher after interviewing the volunteer, and surveying the teachers. Once placed, volunteers come at least once a week for several hours. The volunteer returns to the same classroom each time they visit and their volunteer hours are tracked by the front office. Each school has a lead volunteer – called a School Action Team Volunteer – who works within the surrounding community, recruiting volunteers and setting up partnerships which benefit school goals. GrandInvolve leadership teams have developed plans to expand to all 50 Title 1 Schools in the County by 2024. There are currently 160 GrandInvolve volunteers in 18 schools in classrooms of about 25 students.

The Hampton Roads division of Senior Living Guide is excited to announce The Legacy Sessions, a new project designed to promote understanding and appreciation for our senior citizen population. Thirty two theater students from Salem High School met with 32 senior residents at Marian Manor Assisted Living in Virginia Beach over the period of three separate visits in November and December of last year. The high school students interviewed the seniors on their philosophies and accomplishments in life. Their observations culminated in a program at Salem High School on December 17, 2018. During this time, the students presented monologues as if they themselves were the senior speaking about their life to the audience. The participating seniors from Marian Manor were in attendance and treated to instrumental music, caroling, and holiday hors d’oeurvres all performed and prepared by instrumental, vocal and culinary students at Salem High School. A visual arts department senior student designed the logo and marketing poster.

Senior Connections is actively involved in the effort to help prevent readmissions with a Care Transitions Program in many hospitals within our region with the goal of intervening while the patient is still in the hospital, and continues in the home providing needed resources and support for both the newly released patient and when present, their caregiver. The evidence-based Coleman Coaching Model – Eric Coleman, MD, MPH, and team, University of Colorado Health Services Center - is used to support discharged residents to remain in their homes, while also serving as a link to our agency’s services. By using the Coleman Coaching Model, the coaches are able to encourage the discharged patient to reconcile medication, set a 30-day goal, start of list of questions for the physician and identify red flags to allow him/her and any caregiver assistance to react sooner to avoid another hospital stay. The Coaches also have the opportunity to help the discharged resident access other needed support services through the area agency on aging. She/he might also benefit from home delivery of meals, prescription procedures, and assistance with planning finances and budgets. In addition, Senior Connections can connect him/her to other community resources through programs such as Friendship Cafes that offer nutritional and social aspects of a long-range plan. Thus he/she remains socially connected, an additional health benefit.