Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AUGUST 18, 2012

MEDIA CONTACT:

Catherine Edwards, Executive Director

MA4

573.619.6185

cedwards@ma4web.org

Twitter: @ma4voice

MISSOURI ASSOCIATION OF AREA AGENCIES ON AGING (MA4) ANNOUNCES 2012 INNOVATIVE IDEA AWARDS

Honors Pamela Guest, MEAAA South County Senior Resource Center

Jefferson City, Mo. – The Missouri Association of Area Agencies on Aging (MA4) today announced the 2012 Innovative Ideas Awards for best demonstrated practices in providing and supporting senior services in Missouri.  The awards are sponsored by Harrah’s - St. Louis and North Kansas City. This year’s recipients will be honored at a plenary session on August 23rd during the 2012 MA4 Show Me Summit on Aging and Health at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Jefferson City.  This year’s honorees each will receive $500 to fund programs in their areas. 

From St. Louis Missouri:

Pamela Guest of MEAAA South County Senior Resource Center was selected in the information & assistance category  for her  intergenerational program Students Supporting Seniors.  In the program students from the Bayless School District help senior center volunteers deliver meals to the homebound (Meals on Wheels). The Meal Runner is responsible for loading/unloading meal carriers and coolers and taking the meal and supplies to the door at each delivery stop.  Students have established a special bond with their volunteer drivers as well as the homebound clients.  Students have assisted in other areas of the center by collecting personal care items for holiday gifts and sponsoring fundraising events to support the meal program. Students from the Mehlville School District have designed a website for the South County Senior Resource Center which provides the center the opportunity to advertise services and programs using the latest technology, reaching many more seniors and their families.  Mehlville students will also be assisting seniors in cell phone use.  Students will make sure our seniors know how to use their cell phone including the basics of text messaging.

“Each year, we ask senior organizations throughout Missouri to submit innovative ideas that MA4 and the Area Agencies on Aging can showcase and share with other providers of senior services,” said Mary Schaefer, president of MA4.  “With our sponsor, Harrah’s St. Louis and North Kansas City, we are pleased to congratulate this year’s honorees for their outstanding work on behalf of seniors.  In each case, their innovating thinking and resourcefulness are excellent models for the rest of the state.  We thank Harrah’s for continued support for senior services and providing funding for these awards.”

ABOUT MA4

The Missouri Association of Area Agencies on Aging (ma4) was founded in 1973 to serve as a statewide advocate and resource for older Missourians.  ma4 is comprised of the state’s 10 Area Agencies on Aging (AAA), which were created under the 1973 amendments to the Older American’s Act of 1965.  

For more than 37 years, these local agencies have been providing vital services, programs and information to millions of Missourians and their caregivers, including legal services, home-delivered meals, disease prevention and health promotion, transportation, public benefits counseling, senior centers and in-home services. The 10 Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) provide a coordinated network of care in implementing statewide initiatives that are designed to help older Missourians maintain their independence and give them a voice in articulating their concerns and changing needs. 

As the official statewide association of these agencies, ma4 is dedicated to carrying out its mission of service, information and advocacy to improve the lives of older Missourians and to plan for the changes that will take place as the aging population grows in number and importance in the next decade.