The other day, a Jaba had their volunteer awards ceremony. It was an honor but also humbling to receive an award for the workshops I co-lead. I think that when you are passionate about something that you are willing to do it for free – at least to some extent anyway.
But workshops on how to live well with chronic illness, pain, and diabetes isn’t the only thing that Jaba offers to the world.
JABA’s mission is to promote, establish and preserve sustainable communities for healthy aging that benefit individuals and families of all ages.
To achieve our mission, JABA offers a wide range of services that help older adults and individuals with disabilities stay active in their communities and remain living at home for as long as possible. (Jabacares.org)
The services include
- Insurance Counseling – where seniors get to talk to someone who can make sense of all the Medicare and ACA jargon
- Wills for Seniors – quote often we don’t think about this till later
- Community Centers within the 5 counties around us for fun and engaging activities such as art, crafts, music, field trips and more.
- Adult Care Center – offer person-centered care, which means putting your loved one’s values, preferences and needs at the center of an individualized care plan
- Neighbor-to-Neighbor – connects seniors in need of companionship and volunteers who enjoy a good chat and helping out from time to time.
- Volunteer Ombudsman -advocates for people in institutional settings or who are receiving long-term care at home
- Twice is Nice – selling quality clothing, housewares and furniture generously donated by our community. The revenue generated from sales to assist our aging population in need of additional resources. Our funds help local seniors in need.
And there was something very beautiful said during the ceremony:
It takes a village to raise a child but that same village is needed for the seniors in this world.
C.S.
This isn’t a word for word quote but it was similar to that. And that was referenced is that in fact Jaba also has a pre-school that is “intentionally located at JABA’s main building in Charlottesville to promote intergenerational activities. Preschool kids regularly engage with their elders who attend our Mary Williams Community Senior Center and Adult Care Center”. (Shining Star)
In addition Friends in Schools Helping (FISH) “is a JABA intergenerational program that connects nurturing adults with students in need of individualized attention in a classroom setting”. (FISH)
If you are local to the Charlottesville community, consider volunteering in one of the areas mentioned above.
You can connect to the Website here: Jaba Cares
