Growing

1
Growing Sustaining a Local Caregiver Coalition

• South Central Town Hall Caregiver Coalition
• Jinx Hackler Hastings Respite Care
• Nichole Bryant Midland Area Agency on Aging
• Hastings, Nebraska

2
Who We Are

• Informal Group of Agencies and Caregivers working
  toward an adopted mission with
• Enthusiastic and persevering leadership (cause
  without it nothing happens!)
• We provide
• Educational Opportunities
• Awareness Activities
• Caregiver Support
• Information and Referral Services

3
What We Do

• Meet Monthly
• Plan at least 1 yearly event
• Not a formal 501C3
• No bank accounts!
• Fundraising based on events

4
Our Mission

• Mission
• The South Central Town Hall Caregiver Coalition
  promotes and supports issues important to
  caregivers through coordination, education,
  public policy, and awareness.
• Coalition Goals
• Goal 1 Caregivers will experience less stress by
  having access to the services and resources they
  need.
• Objective 1 Increase public awareness of the
  stresses that caregivers face and need for
  increased resources and access to those
  resources.
• Objective 2 Increase awareness and access to
  services and support groups.
• Goal 2 Caregivers will receive information and
  education through our annual Day of Caring for
  Those Who Care.
• Goal 3 Caregivers will have greater balance
  between work and caregiving.

5
How we came to be.

• Creation of State Level Coalition
• AARP and US Administration on Aging Grant given
  to State Unit on Aging and Nebraska AARP.
• Grant to assist in creating and sustaining
  coalitions
• Focused on state and local level

6
Caregiver Town Hall Meeting

• First State Coalition project
• Thou Shalt Honor Telecast and Town Hall
  Meeting, September 2004 in Kearney
• Wiland-Bell production by PBS
• Nationally Televised Forum
• Enlightening, empowering, and encouraging
  caregiver activism.

7
Town Hall Meeting.

• Town Hall Meeting Vision
• Gain greater knowledge of services and resources
• Create awareness of quality of care and quality
  of life issues
• Promote enthusiasm for change
• Increase community involvement
• Improve awareness of caregiver challenges

8
Caregiver Issues from Town Hall

• Top 5 Issues identified by Caregivers across the
  state at Town Hall meetings
• Caregiver Stress
• Balancing a Job with Caregiver Responsibilities
• One-Stop-Shop (statewide phone line)
• Caregiver Training
• Financial Issues Related to Caregiving

9
Local Town Hall Meeting

• Resulting Local Town Hall Meeting
• Local agencies challenge to repeat Town Hall
  locally
• Hosted by Midland Area Agency on Aging, Hastings
  Respite Care, etc
• 30 caregivers, 25 professionals attended

10
Local Town Hall Meeting

• Result of Local Town Hall Meeting
• Identified issues important to caregivers
• Recruited coalition agencies and leader
• Raised Awareness of Caregiver Issues
• Local media coverage
• Promoted agency networking
• Attendees invited to join local coalition

11
Steps to Forming Your Own Caregiver Coalition

• Planning
• Implementing
• Recruiting
• Fundraising
• Events
• Evaluation and Sustainability

12
Planning Your Local Coalition

• Gather information on caregiver needs
• Hold your own Town Hall Meeting
• Conduct needs assessment survey
• Determine Coalition Purpose
• i.e. education, awareness, support, advocacy,
  sharing resources, etc.

13
Mission and Vision

• Vision Where you want to be in the Grand
  Optimistic Future!
• To empower and educate caregivers of all ages,
  creating a caregiver utopia!
• Mission Where you are going now, why you exist
  coalition purpose
• To educate caregivers on issues important to them
  through awareness activities.

14
Goals and Objectives

• Prioritize actions by coalition
• Determine capabilities of coalition
• Steering principles of all planned activities
• Goal 1 Caregivers will experience less stress by
  having access to the services and resources they
  need. Objective 1 Increase public awareness of
  the stresses that caregivers face and need for
  increased resources and access to those
  resources.
• Objective 2 Increase awareness and access to
  services and support groups.

15
Operations

• Consider
• Leadership hierarchy, voted in leaders?
• Staffing (or volunteers) treasurer, PR
• Location of meetings
• Communication Methods
• Decision Making
• Anonymous ballots
• Raising of Hands
• General Consensus

16
Operations continued

• Adopt a regular meeting schedule
• Adopt a regular form of communication
• i.e. email, mailing, telephone
• Dealing with conflict
• Methods talking, voting, defer to leader
• Conflicting interests of members
• Agree to disagree yet work together toward MISSION

17
Recruiting Coalition Members

• Identifying possible members
• Look for local people with personal experience
  and connections
• Caregivers
• Human Service Agencies
• Long term care professionals
• Hospitals
• Respite Organizations
• Clergy
• Media
• Community and Senior Centers
• Any organizations connected to families with
  special needs

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Recruiting Tip!

• Find an organization (i.e. 501C3) to provide
• Backing and support to coalition
• Meeting space
• Mailing address and contact phone number
• Financial stability to manage fundraising
• Staff time and office supplies

19
Recruiting Tips

• Put Yourself Out There!
• Believe in what you are selling
• Personal Contact mailings wont work
• Buy-in is essential
• People accept what the effort is and are willing
  to work towards it.

20
Recruiting

• Dont be a Debbie Downer

• Be an Action Jackson

21
Fundraising Can Be Fun!

• Believe in What Youre Selling
• Tug at their Heart Strings!
• Use your recruiting tips!
• Explore what works in your Community
• Community focus and showcase
• Family friendly
• Eco-Friendly
• Community working together
• Tourism
• How do caregivers fit within the community focus

22
Fundraising Who to Ask

• Ongoing keep asking!
• Local service clubs
• Kiwanis, Optimist, Elks, Rotary
• Area business utilize locally owned
• Grocery, floral, gift shops, banks, printing
  companies, clothing,
• Big Businesses
• Wal-Mart, Kinkos, Pepsi/Coke,

23
Fundraising Tips

• Service Organizations
• Hospitals, Retirement Facilities, Medical Service
  Offices
• Utilize personal connections of coalition members
• Individuals
• Just ASK!!! The worst they can say is Nothis
  time!
• Just asking is a promotion for events and can
  recruit a new coalition member in the deal

24
Selling the Funding

• What do they get in return for donation?
• PR Coverage
• Name association with worthwhile cause
• Good Vibes in the community
• Return on investment in increased sales
• Physical benefits
• Business name on event materials
• Name in event advertising

25
Keeping repeat funders

• Thank-you notes
• Thank-you ad in newspaper
• Personal Thank-you phone call or visit
• Shared comments from event participants visiting
  their business
• Ask for multi-year commitment

26
Other Funding Possibilities

• Grants (local and national)
• Community Foundations
• Private businesses
• Philanthropic organizations
• Local schools and education programs
• Hospitals and medical parks
• Utilize personal relationships between coalition
  members and those awarding grants.

27
Plan a Coming-Out Event

• Helps promote awareness of coalition
• Provides chance for funding of other projects
• Gives coalition members tangible purpose,
  results, and rewards
• Feel Good Time promotes continued participation
  of coalition members

28
Evaluation

• Ongoing
• Measure whether goals and objectives are being
  met
• Members learn what works and what doesnt
• Keep track of coalition activities
• Help improve ongoing programs
• Results guide new projects

29
Sustainability

• Continued commitment of all members
• Participation will wane and expand with events
• People want something to plan!
• Continue refining goals and objectives
• Continue to gather input from caregivers and
  families served
• Ongoing events and projects

30
Sustainability

• Ongoing recruitment
• Keep the mission statement the focus
• Gain community support
• PR, Fundraising, Event benefits
• Give recognition
• Coalition Members, Funding Sources, Partnering
  Agencies and Businesses

31
Sustainability

• Celebrate Your Successes!
• We use cheesecake

32
Holding A Town Hall Meeting

• What Does the Community Want?

33
Holding Your Own Town Hall Meeting

• Find a non-competitive location
• i.e. community center, police station, city
  auditorium, chamber office, library
• Brainstorm regarding who to invite
• Use local directories, (i.e. human resource
  guides, United Way mailing list, Chamber of
  Commerce directories, phone book agencies lists,
  etc.)
• Invite Community Leaders (Senators, Mayor City
  Council
• Invite Family Professional Caregivers
• Physicians

34
Recruiting Host Agencies

• Find an agency(s) willing to..
• Donate staff minimal time
• Monies for expenses
• (i.e. postage, mailings, meeting notice,
  snacks, etc)
• Meeting location conference room

35
Getting the Word Out

• Prepare press releases for local media
  (television, radio, newspaper)
• Prepare distribute posters (i.e. library,
  banks, grocery stores, community centers)
• Provide short presentations to interested parties
  (Church groups, Kiwanis, Support Groups, etc)

36
Suggested Topics at Town Hall

• The need for respite care
• Financial burden of care giving
• No one-stop shop for services
• Difficulty balancing work and care giving
• Caregiver training
• End of life issues
• No respect from physicians and other health care
  professionals
• Family conflict and caregiver stress

37
Sample Agenda

• Opening and Introductions
• Director Midland Area Agency on Aging
• Video Clips Caregiver Topics
• Provided by PBS Thou Shalt Honor
• Clips on Top 5 Caregiver Topics
• Caregiver Stress
• Balancing Work and Caregiving
• Caregiver Resources
• Caregiver Training
• Financial Burden
• Small Group Exercise
• Discussed questions on handout

38
Feed them and they will come!

• Find local business willing to donate
• refreshments.

39
First Coalition Meeting

• Lets Get Together!

40
Recruiting Host Agency for First Coalition Meeting

• Find agency committed to hosting for at least one
  year
• Willing to donate minimal staff time
• Willing to provide money for miscellaneous
  expenses,
• i.e. postage, paper, snacks,
• Ability to host large group
• Conference Room

41
Who to Invite to First Coalition Meeting

• Everybody!
• Use list of attendees from Town Hall meeting
• Use brainstorm list from Town Hall invitations
• Invite participants from needs assessment surveys

42
How To Ensure Attendance

• Hold it within 2 weeks after your Town Hall
  meeting
• At the end of the Town Hall meeting
• announce the 1st Coalition meeting
• (time, date, place).
• Follow-up with personal invitation by phone

43
Sample Agenda of First Meeting

• Introduction by host agency
• Introduction of attendees
• Capabilities Assessment (handout)
• Discuss results of Town Hall Meeting or Needs
  Assessment
• Open discussion of Mission and Vision
• Discuss possible goals and events
• Set date and time for next meeting

44
Hosting Your First Coalition Event

• A Day of Caring for Those Who Care

45
Planning Your Event
Also known as Keeping Coalition Members
Interested, Active, and Excited!

• Brainstorm ideas on format of event
• i.e. Resource Fair, Respite Day, Lunch and Learn,
  Informational Seminar, etc.
• Use issues identified at Town Hall to develop
  activities
• Format can dictate sponsors, speakers and
  materials needed
• Develop a budget
• May depend on your enthusiasm for fundraising!

46
Funding Tips

• Use your Funding Can Be Fun Tips
• Use local donations
• Food, Decorations, Door Prizes, Speakers
• Find and utilize a coalition member who has
  access to a space!
• i.e. Coalition member Eric from Parks and
  Recreation ensures we have the City Auditorium at
  no charge
• Update Budget as Needed
• Dont spend it before you get it!

47
Event Tips

• Use a theme
• i.e. Luau, Garden Party, Jazz Fest, Patriotic
• Recruit Enthusiastic Volunteers
• We are not above preparing the food ourselves,
  and we do the clean up, too!

48
Happy Volunteers Fun!
49
Event Tips

• Provide Lots of Food!
• Local cafés and restaurants donated food
• Grocery store donated food to prepare
• Local restaurant donated part of meal
• Beverages provided by Assisted Living members of
  the coalition

50
Coalition Members Participation

• Each member makes contributions
• Dollars
• Donations of Food and Decorations
• Door Prizes
• Equipment
• Respite
• Time, Lots and Lots of Time!

51
Caregiver Members are Greeters!
52
Evaluation

• Day of Caring eval. sample (handout)
• Determine what worked and what didnt
• Gather ideas for next event from participants
• Recruit new coalition members
• Provide positive feedback to coalition
• Feels Good to Know they Enjoyed It!
• Measure effectiveness of goals

53
Event Follow Up

• Hold follow-up meeting soon after
• Celebrate Your SUCCESS!!!
• Send thank-you notes ASAP
• Review expenses, reconcile budget
• Jump Right in for Next Event

54
Other events by SCTH

• November Family Caregiver Awareness Month Event
• Luncheon and Caregiver Tree Ceremony
• City Of Hastings Proclamation
• On-going lunch and learn program for area
  employers
• Caring for Your Parents Film Showing
• Developed Brochure for IR and events
• Participation in National Education Events
• Washington D.C. National Caregiving Coalition
  Conference
• ARCH Conference
• Participate in national teleconferences and
  webcasts

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Questions?
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Thank-You!

• Go Forth and Coalesce