Celebrating 10 Years of Caregiver Grants
Caring comes naturally for Road Scholar. Since our founding in 1975, Road Scholar has set aside resources to provide financial support to lifelong learners who may otherwise not have the means to attend one of our learning adventures. Over the years, with the support of our donors, Road Scholar has been able to expand financial assistance to more individuals in need. This month, we are proud to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our Caregiver Grant program, an impactful initiative created to make a difference in the lives of primary caregivers when they need it most.
Ann Simanis, Associate Vice President, Advancement, noticed a trend in financial aid applications between 2010 and 2014. “We began receiving applications from people who had experienced significant challenges, including changes in employment and extraordinary expenses, due to caregiving responsibilities,” says Ann. “But they were falling outside the parameters for our Road Scholar’s Financial Assistance Program.”
“We wanted to help these folks,” says Ann. “The demands of caregiving were impacting them greatly, and we wanted to offer them an opportunity to establish friendships, try new things and find respite from their day-to-day lives.”
With a profound sense of care and concern, Ann started to make exceptions as financial assistance applications outlining extenuating circumstances continued to come in. “We realized, instead of making exceptions, we needed to create something new,” says Ann. “It was a fork in the road for Road Scholar. Did we want to keep doing what we were doing, or did we want to launch a new opportunity?”
Ann Simanis, Associate VP of Advancement
“We decided to expand the guideline for financial assistance and to launch our new Caregiver Grant program to meet the needs of a growing population of primary caregivers on April 6, 2015,” says Ann. “We adjusted the financial parameters and asked applicants to tell us about the financial impact that caregiving was having on their household. We also worked to make this opportunity available to more people, reaching out to caregivers within our existing community and beyond.”
As word about this new program spread among caregiving and support groups and organizations, the number of applications slowly started to come in after six months. “We made our first awards in 2015 —recorded in the 2016 fiscal year,” says Ann. “Over the years, we’ve seen the number of applicants steadily increase. In the beginning, it was a process of educating and helping people choose and enroll in a program.”
This month, as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of this remarkable program, more than 500 applicants have experienced the rejuvenating benefits of a Road Scholar learning adventure. “Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we look forward to expanding our Caregiver Grant program and serving the needs of more caregivers in the future,” says Ann.
Caregiver Grant recipient Colette recounts caring for her husband, John, and shares how a Road Scholar Caregiver Grant gave her the hope and desire to step out and do something after being so emotionally and physically exhausted.
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Read more about Road Scholar’s Caregiver Grant recipients and how this life-changing opportunity has impacted them.
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If you, or someone you know, is a primary caregiver, please learn more about our Road Scholar Caregiver Grant program.