Total Community Benefit
Transcription
Total Community Benefit
Diakon Currents for Good 2014 Community Benefit Report Currents for Good A BUTTERFLY FLAPS ITS WINGS. If that butterfly, flitting among the eucalyptus trees of Hawaii, tilts its wings a certain way, the air currents it sets up can precipitate weather change somewhere far across the ocean in North America. But if the butterfly rotates a bit and flaps its wings in another direction, it can prompt an entirely different weather event somewhere else far away. That quite-powerful butterfly is the key illustration in a scientific theory that proclaims there are invisible patterns all around us. It also serves as a terrific metaphor for community benefit. Serve a person here and the currents it sets up have an impact there. Assist a community organization or group in one small way and the currents that arise help multiple people in multiple ways. That’s the idea of community benefit—that we have a much greater impact than just upon those we serve directly. We invite you to explore Diakon’s impact— our currents for good. Overview of our report R eporting community benefit is a complex process. Just one example: Providing free meeting-room space to community groups is reported in one category if related to health care, in another if not related to health care but in support of overall community-building. The Catholic Health Association of the United States has defined and categorized standard measures and ways to report a non-profit organization’s community benefit. While many of its guidelines focus on the reporting required of hospitals, the association also has developed social accountability recommendations for Continuing Care Retirement Communities and related organizations. If there is one key recommendation, it is to err on the side of caution in quantifying community impact. In other words, if you are not certain an activity qualifies as community benefit that you can count in terms of dollars, don’t count. At Diakon, we have done just that. Although, for example, we often provide training sites for health-care professionals in concert with local educational institutions, we include that positive effect on community health education in programmatic narratives, rather than attempt to provide a dollar-value for the training. It is important, therefore, to review both the figures provided and the many narrative reports. Community impact outside health care Community benefit reporting is typically associated with hospitals and other forms of non-profit health care. However, many Diakon programs have a significant impact on the community outside traditional health care and similar services. The positive effect of these programs needs to be accounted for in any assessment of the organization’s role in improving community life. The report thus includes two sections in addition to the senior living-focused section: • One on benefit provided through Diakon’s many services for children, youths, families, and the general community. • The second on overarching community impact outside individual programs. Totals from these three categories constitute the overall Diakon community-benefit figure for 2014. We are pleased to present our annual community benefit report, Currents for Good. We invite your comments or questions. Address them to: Diakon Office of Corporate Communications 1022 N. Union St. Middletown, PA 17057 Or email them to [email protected]. 4 I n this report’s section on Ohesson, a Continuing Care Retirement Community in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, is the statement that Ohesson arose from the very concept of community benefit— because the senior living community was developed in concert with the local county to replace an aging “county home,” serving those who might not otherwise be served. In fact, that emphasis on people who, without us, might remain unserved—in many respects, the definition of community benefit—arises from the same impetus as our mission statement: “In response to God’s love in Jesus Christ, Diakon will demonstrate God’s command to love the neighbor through acts of service.” Much of that concern for the neighbor in 2014 occurred in direct service as Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries and Diakon Child, Family & Community Ministries helped 68,990 people—a 22.5% increase over the number served in 2013. Further, Diakon Kathryn’s Kloset touched the lives of more than 250,000 additional people. The program solicits and stores corporate donations of cleaning and personal care products, making them available to regional, national, and even international non-profit organizations to distribute to people in need in their communities, free of charge to the individual recipient. However, as nationally defined, community benefit refers to the way we make a difference beyond direct service— and speaks to a special concern for those with lower incomes or other reduced resources. Community benefit reflects our responsibility for improving the fabric of society, a response to the trust placed in us through the granting of tax-exempt status. Community benefit also means incorporating into our programs an intentional focus on improving community life, particularly for those with limited resources, and seeking ways to identify and meet unmet needs. Programs such as Flight—which provides guidance and support to young adults at the most critical times in their lives, times when other support has vanished—demonstrates our emphasis on community impact. Meeting such unmet need has been an integral part of our mission since the 1800s—when we developed two homes for children orphaned by war, disease or other disaster—and remains at the heart of what we do today. Reporting community impact is just one aspect of social accountability. As we refine services and develop new ones, our goal always is to find ways to improve life in our communities, having a lasting and significant impact not only for the neighbors we directly serve, but also for their neighbors. I invite your questions and comments. Mark T. Pile, MSHA, MSW President/CEO 5 Currents for Good: a 2014 with major impact D iakon’s 2014 community benefit totaled nearly $19.6 million. That amount compares to 2013 community impact of slightly more than $18.8 million. The Diakon organizations had extensive additional impact in ways that cannot, based on national guidelines, be included in quantified totals. Beyond direct service and additional community impact, Diakon spent $17,781,932 on capital projects, improvements, and property maintenance in 2014—work that has major benefit for not only our programs, staff members, and residents, but also the regional economy. Also having a major impact on community economies was Diakon’s 2014 payroll of $63,775,496. Those two figures cannot be included in quantified community benefit but nevertheless reflect the significant impact Diakon has—impact that creates many, many currents for good. Below is a summary of community benefit by program. The following pages provide detail on that impact, including information on additional community benefit not quantified. Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries (Senior Living Services) Buffalo Valley Lutheran Village $ Cumberland Crossings $ Diakon Senior Living – Hagerstown $ Frey Village $ The Lutheran Home at Topton $ Luther Crest $ Manatawny Manor $ Ohesson$ Twining Village $ Continuing Benevolent Care Promse $ Veterans Assistance Program $ Total Community Benefit: $ 3,410,541 769,203 1,781,523 1,771,753 2,895,754 547,698 1,352,913 1,157,547 223,845 54,084 1,742,122 15,706,983 Diakon Child, Family & Community Ministries Adoption, foster care, and related services $ 333,817 Church & Community Services $ 143,437 Diakon Community Services $ 109,992 Diakon Family Life Services $ 678,352 Diakon Kathryn’s Kloset $ 1,772,398 Diakon Youth Scholarships $ 74,347 Diakon Youth Services $ 696,321 Lutheran Disaster Response $ 60,397 Total Community Benefit: $ 3,869,061 Other Diakon Programs Love of Thy Neighbor Fund (Ministry Support figure only; other grants in program reports) $ 385 Community Benefit Reporting (2013) $ 20,704 Total Community Benefit: $ 21,089 TOTAL DIAKON COMMUNITY BENEFIT: 6 $ 19,597,133 Diakon Senior Living Services In all, the programs grouped within Diakon Senior Living Services provided quantifiable community impact of $15,706,983. BUFFALO VALLEY LUTHERAN VILLAGE A Diakon Senior Living Community 189 E. Tressler Boulevard Lewisburg, PA 17837 (570) 524-2221 B uffalo Valley Lutheran Village is a Continuing Care Retirement Community located near Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The village offers a range of senior-living cottage homes, a personal care community, and a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center. That $16.2 million health care center was dedicated in the fall of 2013 as the first of its kind in the region to feature a modified-neighborhood design, which creates a more homelike and less institutional environment. The concept enhances staff ability to provide patient-centered care, which allows residents to rise and go to bed, take meals and so on, based on individual preference. Buffalo Valley Lutheran Village staff (from left, Robert Musser, executive director, Charlene Fisher, personal care administrator, and Brenda Grimm, nursing home administrator), enjoy tasting various chili entries submitted by staff and residents during a cook-off fundraising event. Village staff members and residents have raised significant funds the last several years to support the local Relay for Life team, one more way the senior living community benefits the community. community-related benefit. In addition, the community served as a training site, including providing supervision, for RN students from the Pennsylvania College of Technology. Beyond efforts to meet the health-care and rehabilitation needs of residents of the central Susquehanna Valley, Buffalo Valley serves as an active member of its community by providing free meeting space for a variety of community groups, including a homecare provider offering education on health carerelated topics and the local Area Agency on Aging. In addition, the village remains a key partner with Bucknell University’s Institute for Lifelong Learning, which provides periodic educational programs for area residents in The Village Common. Also not reported in figures on Page 8 are funds raised by Buffalo Valley staff members for such external organizations as the Lewisburg Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society. Volunteers Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit. However, both internal and external volunteers play a pivotal role in enhancing life at Buffalo Valley Lutheran Village. While not reported in the community impact figures on Page 8, Diakon provided $2,238 in 2014 tuition assistance to Buffalo Valley staff members to advance careers within health care, another In 2014, nearly 20 volunteers contributed some 2,000 hours of service to benefit life at the village. 7 Buffalo Valley Lutheran Village Financial Impact & Community Benefit Health Professions Education • Student Internships in Clinical Settings $ Subsidized Health Services • Personal Care Benevolent Support • Skilled Nursing Benevolent Support $ 311,692 $ 3,089,106 Cash & In-Kind Contributions • In-Kind Donations $ TOTAL: 8,198 1,545 $ 3,410,541 CUMBERLAND CROSSINGS A Diakon Lutheran Senior Living Community 1 Longsdorf Way Carlisle, PA 17015 (717) 245-9941 L ocated in historic Carlisle, Pennsylvania, home of Dickinson College and the U.S. Army War College, Cumberland Crossings is a Continuing Care Retirement Community offering senior living cottage-homes, personal care accommodations, and skilled nursing and rehabilitation services. Cumberland Crossings, like all Diakon senior living communities, provides a variety of activities that link senior living residents and staff members with various external groups and interests. One 2014 event was a pet day and parade with related educational activities, all helping to raise funds for the village auxiliary. Beyond meeting the residential and health-care needs of older adults of the Cumberland Valley and beyond, Cumberland Crossings is an important member of its local community, offering free meeting space to such groups as the local Alzheimer’s Association, churches, the Carlisle Exchange Club, and an area “newcomers group.” The village also partners with a number of groups including the Alzheimer’s Association to bring to the campus educational sessions that are available to members of the general community. involved in the Wilderness Greenhouse & Native Plant Nursery worked with Cumberland Crossings residents to develop and manage a community garden on the Cumberland Crossings campus. As part of that relationship, Cumberland Crossings—along with several other Diakon senior living communities, including Ohesson, Diakon Senior Living – Hagerstown, and Frey Village—hosted dinners and provided special hooded sweatshirts to youths who completed a Diakon Wilderness Center program. The total community impact of that effort was $410. In addition, Cumberland Crossings has a unique partnership with the Diakon Wilderness Center, which provides intergenerational opportunities and the ability for Cumberland Crossings residents to have an impact on the lives of at-risk youths. In this effort, Diakon Wilderness Center students Cumberland Crossings maintains a pool available to people from local communities who join its Senior 8 Volunteers Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit. However, both internal and external volunteers play a pivotal role in enhancing life at Cumberland Crossings. Among groups with which the senior living community has developed volunteer partnerships are Dickinson and Messiah colleges, Shippensburg University, local high-school groups, and the United Way. Fitness Connection program. The costs to provide that service externally exceed revenues from community participants, resulting in community impact, though that figure is not quantified in this report. Also not reported in the community impact figure, Diakon provided $2,400 in 2014 tuition assistance to Cumberland Crossings staff members to advance their careers within health care, another benefit to the general community. In addition, staff assisted with supervision of several interns, helping to prepare students for careers in senior-related care. In 2014, 33 volunteers provided 1,616 hours of service within Cumberland Crossings. Cumberland Crossings Financial Impact & Community Benefit Health Professions Education • Student Internships in Clinical Settings $ Subsidized Health Services • Personal Care Benevolent Support $ • Skilled Nursing Benevolent Support $ Cash & In-Kind Contributions • In-Kind Donations $ TOTAL: $ 17,977 65,963 684,707 556 769,203 DIAKON SENIOR LIVING – HAGERSTOWN The Ravenwood Campus 1183 Luther Drive Hagerstown, MD 21740 The Robinwood Campus 19800 Tranquility Circle Hagerstown, MD 21742 (240) 420-4119 D iakon Senior Living – Hagerstown is a Continuing Care Retirement Community composed of two campuses, Ravenwood and Robinwood, that jointly offer skilled nursing and Staff from Diakon Senior Living – Hagerstown used the ALS ice-bucket challenge as a way to educate residents of the senior living community on the benefits and viral nature of social media and the Internet. 9 rehabilitative care, two assisted living communities, memory-support assisted living, and a range of senior living cottage-homes. The Ravenwood campus also serves as site for a Diakon Adult Day Services center, whose community impact is reported in a different section of this report. Volunteers Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit. However, both internal and external volunteers play a pivotal role in enhancing life on the two campuses of Diakon Senior Living – Hagerstown and are a vital community asset. In addition to meeting the health-care and related needs of older adults from Washington County and surrounding regions, Diakon Senior Living – Hagerstown serves as a member of its community by providing free meeting space for a variety of community groups, including Washington County Health Department, CARES, and AARP safe driving classes. Moreover, Diakon Senior Living – Hagerstown offers a monthly Smart Seniors educational series and space for SpiriTrust Lutheran Home Care and Hospice to provide educational sessions for residents of surrounding communities. In addition, Diakon Senior Living includes some 80 external residents in its Senior Fitness Club. In 2014, nearly 50 external and internal volunteers contributed 4,447 hours of service to benefit life at Diakon Senior Living – Hagerstown. While not reported in the community impact figure below, Diakon provided $2,057 in 2014 tuition assistance to staff of Diakon Senior Living – Hagerstown to advance careers within health care, another community-related benefit. Also not reported in figures below are funds raised by staff members for organizations such as the Alzheimer’s Association, Cumberland Valley Breast Cancer Society, and Operation Christmas Child. Diakon Senior Living – Hagerstown Financial Impact & Community Benefit Community Health Services • Health Care Support Services $ Subsidized Health Services • Assisted Living Benevolent Support • Skilled Nursing Benevolent Support $ 448,768 $ 1,111,714 Cash & In-Kind Contributions • In-Kind Donations TOTAL: $ 1,449 $ 1,781,523 10 2,524 FREY VILLAGE A Diakon Lutheran Senior Living Community 1020 North Union Street Middletown, PA 17057 (717) 930-1200 F rey Village is a Continuing Care Retirement Community in Middletown, Pennsylvania, close to the state capital of Harrisburg. The village offers senior living accommodations in an apartment tower, along with personal care services and skilled nursing and rehabilitative care. In addition, the village maintains the Phoenix Unit, a secure care center for those with Alzheimer’s disease and related memory illnesses. In response to local need, the village has been focused on enhancing its short-term rehabilitation, wellness, and memorysupportive programs. Each year, Frey Village holds a Strawberry Festival and a community Easter egg hunt, both of which help to create valuable relationships with the community. The village also works to support various community organizations. While not reported in the figures below, the village provides materials for recycling to the Ronald McDonald House and in 2014 staff members and residents collected hats and mittens for a local organization, managed a food drive for the regional food bank, raised funds for the fight against cancer, participated in local communitydevelopment events, and hosted an Easter egg hunt for area children. Beyond directly meeting the region’s health-care and rehabilitation needs, Frey Village provides free educational and clinical space to Harrisburg Area Community College for training of certified nursing assistants. In addition, the village provides accommodations for a monthly support group for people dealing with a loved one’s Alzheimer’s disease or similar memory-related illness. Volunteers Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit. However, both internal and external volunteers play a pivotal role in enhancing life at Frey Village. Volunteers develop and staff a number of important programs for the village including an annual Strawberry Festival. While not reported in the community impact figure below, Diakon provided $4,833 in 2014 tuition assistance to staff of Frey Village to advance careers within health care, another communityrelated benefit. In 2014, 65 volunteers logged 1,348 hours of service to Frey Village. Frey Village Financial Impact & Community Benefit Subsidized Health Services • Personal Care Benevolent Support $ • Skilled Nursing Benevolent Support $ 1,486,483 285,219 Cash & In-Kind Contributions • In-Kind Donations TOTAL: 11 $ 51 $ 1,771,753 THE LUTHERAN HOME AT TOPTON A Diakon Senior Living Community One South Home Avenue Topton, Pennsylvania 19562 (610) 682-1400 P erched on a hilltop overlooking the rolling countryside of Berks County, Pennsylvania, The Lutheran Home at Topton campus houses not only a Continuing Care Retirement Community but also offices for Diakon Adoption & Foster Care. The senior living community consists of independent living accommodations, personal care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation services, and multiple levels of memory-support care in both personal care and skilled nursing. The Lutheran Home at Topton is the site of the former Topton Orphans Home and is known for its iconic Old Main building. One aspect of The Lutheran Home at Topton’s community benefit arises from its provision of space at greatly reduced cost to the Brandywine Community Library, housed in Old Main on the Topton campus. Here, a preschool child and his mother engage in online learning activities after hearing a story and completing a craft at the community library. cat litter also were made in 2014 to the regional SPCA. Further, the senior living campus provides free transportation, as well as access to activities, to residents of the nearby, separately incorporated Luther Meadows and Heilman House rental-assistance housing complexes. In addition, the campus hosts support-group sessions on Alzheimer’s disease and similar memory-related illnesses and provides space for public health-related information sessions. Beyond offering free meeting space for various community organizations, including the local ambulance association and Diakon Adoption & Foster Care’s resource-parent training programs, The Lutheran Home at Topton subsidizes the cost for housing the Brandywine Community Library within the campus’ Old Main building. Old Main also houses artifacts related to the site’s history as an orphanage. Further, The Lutheran Home at Topton hosts Grace Lutheran Congregation; because the congregation includes some members of the senior living community, the costs to provide space for it are not included in quantified community impact. Finally, while not reported in the community impact total on Page 13, Diakon provided $5,025 in 2014 tuition assistance to staff members of The Lutheran Home at Topton to advance their careers within health care, another benefit to the general community. Volunteers Topton staff members take part in numerous activities to raise funds for such organizations and programs as the Alzheimer’s Association, the American Heart Association, Diakon Adoption & Foster Care, Girls on the Run, Friends, Inc., the Topton Food Bank, and the senior living community’s benevolent care fund. Donations of food, blankets, and Both internal and external volunteers play a pivotal role in enhancing life within The Lutheran Home at Topton and are a vital community asset. In addition, Topton staff members volunteer for a wide range of community organizations. In 2014, 140 people contributed 5,885 hours of service to residents of The Lutheran Home at Topton. Based on national reporting guidelines, the dollar-value of that service is not included in the following figures. 12 The Lutheran Home at Topton Financial Impact & Community Benefit Community Health Services • Support Groups • Health Care Support Services $ $ Subsidized Health Services • Personal Care Benevolent Support • Skilled Nursing Benevolent Support $ 477,194 $ 2,385,539 Cash & In-Kind Contributions • In-Kind Donations TOTAL: $ 25,036 $ 2,895,754 38 7,947 LUTHER CREST A Diakon Lutheran Senior Living Community 800 Hausman Road Allentown, Pennsylvania 18104 (610) 398-8011 L ocated in a suburban area of Allentown, Pennsylvania, Luther Crest is a Continuing Care Retirement Community including several styles of senior living accommodations, personal care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation services, and memorysupportive care. Luther Crest has undergone significant expansion and upgrades over the last half-decade including renovation of skilled care and personal care communities and the development of a memory-support unit. Taking in the new secure memory-support garden at Luther Crest are, front left to right, Lois Eisenhard, a major Luther Crest donor; the Rev. Dianne Kareha, chaplain; back left to right, James Mackin of Diakon’s Development office; the Rev. Mark Wimmer, Diakon vice president for church relations and ministry partnerships; and Mark Pile, Diakon president/CEO. The garden was part of a major expansion project at the Allentown, Pennsylvania, senior living community that established a needed service in the region: memory-support personal care. Beyond meeting the residential and health-care needs of older adults in the Lehigh Valley and beyond, Luther Crest is a valuable member of its community in consistently providing free space for meetings by numerous external groups including the local Rotary Club, a youth-mentoring group, a local art guild, and an ombudsmen group. Luther Crest partners with Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital and Lehigh Valley Health Network to advance staff members’ health-related education. staff-overseen support group for family members and others caring for older adults with memoryrelated illnesses. The senior living community also serves as an educational site for college students to gain experience in specific health-care professions, as well as chaplaincy internships. While not reported in the community impact figure, Diakon provided $1,418 in 2014 tuition assistance to staff members of Luther Crest to advance their careers within health care, another benefit to the general community. In addition, Luther Crest, in occasional partnership with the local Alzheimer’s Association, provides a 13 Also not reported in figures below are contributions given by staff members, residents, and families for various fund-raising projects that Luther Crest initiated or participated in; any staff time spent in coordinating these activities is not included in quantifiable community impact. Among groups benefiting from these benevolent efforts were the Lehigh County Conference of Churches, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Lehigh Presbytery, Jewish-Christian Understanding Organization, CROP Walk, foster children, Sixth Street Shelter, and the Allentown Ecumenical Food Bank. volunteer with external groups including area congregations, after-school programs, local hospitals, musical groups, an environmental organization, a learning center for children with special needs, and a soup kitchen. Volunteers In 2014, more than 110 volunteers contributed 8,010 hours of service within Luther Crest. Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit. However, both internal and external volunteers play a pivotal role in enhancing life at Luther Crest and are a vital community asset. In addition, Luther Crest residents consistently Further, Diakon provided $250 in Love of Thy Neighbor funding to a Luther Crest staff member volunteering with an external non-profit organization, one more way to increase community impact. Moreover, in 2014, Luther Crest residents conducted a capital campaign drive that raised more than $1 million to support the creation of a memorysupportive personal care community at Luther Crest; while that figure is not quantified in Luther Crest’s community-benefit data the program it helped to create represents a significant impact on community health. Luther Crest Financial Impact & Community Benefit Community Health Services • Support Groups Health Professions Education • Student Internships in Clinical Settings Subsidized Health Services • Personal Care Benevolent Support • Skilled Nursing Benevolent Support Cash & In-Kind Contributions • In-Kind Donations TOTAL: 14 $ 282 $ 8,264 $ $ 60,101 478,045 $ 1,006 $ 547,698 MANATAWNY MANOR A Diakon Lutheran Senior Living Community 30 Old Schuylkill Road Pottstown, PA 19465 (610) 705-3700 M anatawny Manor, located near Pottstown, Pennsylvania, is a Continuing Care Retirement Community offering personal care accommodations, entrance-fee personal care, and nursing and rehabilitative care along with specialized programming, in both nursing and personal care, for residents with Alzheimer’s disease and similar memory-related illnesses. The site also houses a Diakon Adult Day Services center, whose community impact is reported in a different section of this report. Manatawny Manor has been a key provider of senior living health-care services in the Montgomery and Chester counties region for nearly 40 years. Fresh flower arrangements—donated by various staff members, who grow them in their gardens—are used in centerpieces throughout the resident dining rooms and nursing stations at Manatawny Manor, one small additional way staff has an impact on residents’ lives. Beyond meeting the region’s health-care and shortterm rehabilitation needs, Manatawny Manor also has historically provided support groups for families with a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or similar memory-related illness; that program was reinvigorated to be operated internally in 2015. While not reported in the community impact figures below, Diakon provided $1,200 in 2014 tuition assistance to staff of Manatawny Manor to advance careers within health care, another community-related benefit. Volunteers Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit. However, volunteers play a pivotal role in enhancing life at Manatawny Manor. In 2014, 21 volunteers contributed 450 hours of service to Manatawny Manor. Manatawny Manor Financial Impact & Community Benefit Subsidized Health Services • Personal Care Benevolent Support • Skilled Nursing Benevolent Support $ 159,492 $ 1,193,421 $ 1,352,913 TOTAL: 15 OHESSON A Diakon Lutheran Senior Living Community 276 Green Avenue Lewistown, PA 17044 (717) 242-1416 L ocated south of State College, in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, Ohesson is a Continuing Care Retirement Community that offers nursing and rehabilitative care, along with senior living accommodations in cottage-homes. Ohesson originated in response to the very concept of community impact—it was developed in cooperation with Mifflin County to replace an aging “county home” and to make certain that skilled nursing care would be available to county residents with limited financial resources. For many years, Ohesson has sponsored a public Art Along the Juniata event, which allows local artists to showcase their work. These types of events are additional ways Diakon senior living communities create significant ties with their communities. In addition, Ohesson created one of the area’s first secure memory-support skilled-care units in response to local need. More recently, again in response to community need, Ohesson developed a short-term neighborhood offering inpatient rehabilitation services for 23 guests. Volunteers Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit. However, both internal and external volunteers play a pivotal role in enhancing life at Ohesson. In addition, volunteer activities by Ohesson residents benefited the Mifflin County Library System, Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, Rescue Our Furry Friends, and the Mifflin/Juniata Counties Relay for Life. Beyond meeting these health-care needs, Ohesson serves as a clinical training site in various levels of nursing care in partnership with the Mifflin-Juniata Career and Technology Center and the GeisingerLewistown Hospital School of Nursing. While not reported in the community impact figures below, Diakon provided $500 in 2014 tuition assistance to staff of Ohesson to advance their careers, another community-related benefit. In 2014, more than 60 volunteers contributed 2,474 hours of service to Ohesson residents. Ohesson Financial Impact & Community Benefit Health Professions Education • Student Internships in Clinical Settings $ Subsidized Health Services • Skilled Nursing Benevolent Support $ 1,156,424 TOTAL: 16 1,123 $ 1,157,547 TWINING VILLAGE A Diakon Lutheran Senior Living Community 280 Middle Holland Road Holland, PA 18966 (215) 322-6100 T wining Village is located in historic Bucks County, Pennsylvania, not far from Philadelphia and its attractions. The Continuing Care Retirement Community, which has undergone extensive expansion and renovation that last few years, offers senior living accommodations, personal care services, and nursing and rehabilitative care. In 2015, Twining Village broke ground for Twining Brook Gardens; residents, staff, and the community are participating in the campaign to fund the garden. Twining Brook Garden will contain several paved patio areas convenient for those who use wheelchairs and others to sit and enjoy nature. The space will enhance quality of life for residents and the friends and family members who visit them. Beyond meeting the residential and health-care needs of older adults from Bucks County and the surrounding region, Twining Village serves as a vital member of its community, providing free or discounted meeting space to a number of area organizations including the Bucks County Women’s Choral Group, student recitals, a local church, and a young actors guild. Also not reported in figures below are resident and staff fundraising projects to benefit the community; one such effort annually results in an approximate $2,500 contribution to help support external services for those with Alzheimer’s disease and their families. In addition, the village works with the local Alzheimer’s Association to provide educational programming and support to family members and others in the general community caring for older adults with memory-related illnesses. Volunteers Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit. Volunteers, however, play a vital role in enhancing life at Twining Village. While not reported in the community impact figure, Diakon provided $5,970 in 2014 tuition assistance to Twining Village staff to advance careers within health care, another benefit to the general community. In 2014, approximately 110 volunteers provided 4,290 hours of service within Twining Village. Twining Village Financial Impact & Community Benefit Community Health Services • Support Groups $ 26 Subsidized Health Services • Personal Care Benevolent Support $ 223,570 Cash & In-Kind Contributions • In-Kind Donations TOTAL: $ $ 249 223,845 17 Continuing Benevolent Care Promise Total Community Benefit – $54,084 I n 2005, Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries sold nine free-standing health-care and personal care/ assisted living communities to another health-care provider. Diakon took this step because of the huge capital investments that would have been required to maintain nearly two-dozen senior living communities as leaders in their individual markets. Diakon’s Veterans Assistance Program has a significant community impact as it helps veterans to access various VA benefits for which they qualify but may not know how to obtain. Veterans Assistance Program Total Community Benefit – $1,742,122 As part of that sale—and in alignment with Diakon’s benevolent care promise never to discharge residents if, through no fault of their own, they can no longer afford their care or service—Diakon pledged to subsidize personal care services for then-current residents who needed that support. D iakon maintains a Veterans Assistance Program to help people served by Diakon programs and senior living communities to access the benefits they deserve for their own or a spouse’s military service. Through education and consultation, the program also assists many people beyond those served directly by Diakon. In 2014, Diakon provided $54,084 in support of its Benevolent Care Promise for residents of several of the sold facilities. In 2014, the Veterans Assistance Program secured benefits for individuals totaling $1,849,593. Subtracting the amount Diakon received in VA benefits from this work—which reduces the need for other subsidies—but adding back, proportionate to the number of external individuals served, Diakon’s costs in providing the service yields a community impact of $1,656,883. As noted, Diakon’s Veterans Assistance staff provides numerous external educational sessions to assist veterans and their spouses in understanding Veterans Administration benefits and how to access them. In one instance in 2014 that educational component, which assisted other organizations in serving veterans, had additional community benefit of $85,239 related to assistance for veterans. 18 Diakon Child, Family & Community Programs In all, the programs grouped within Diakon Child, Family & Community Ministries provided quantifiable community impact of $3,869,061. T he national reporting guidelines for community impact focus on hospitals and medical centers, with a supplemental set of standards for long-term care/Continuing Care Retirement Communities such as those operated by Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries. IN ADDITION to the direct subsidy provided by Diakon to support these services for children, families, and communities, many of the programs had further quantifiable community impact, as noted on the following pages. However, Diakon has an additional and significant impact on multiple regions of Pennsylvania and Maryland through its wide range of services for children, youths, families, and the community. In 2014, those programs transitioned into a new organization, Diakon Child, Family & Community Ministries. Beyond the $13,888,592 in subsidized health care included in the senior living services section of this report, Diakon provided $2,342,343 in 2014 subsidy to support its community-based programs for children, youths, and adults of all ages, including adoption and foster care, counseling services, and a range of programs for at-risk youths. 19 While not reported in community impact figures, Diakon provided $4,300 in 2014 tuition assistance to staff members from Diakon Adoption & Foster Care and Diakon Youth Services to advance careers within these service fields, another benefit to society. Diakon Adoption & Foster Care Total Community Benefit – $333,817 D iakon Adoption & Foster Care provides numerous services designed to match waiting children and youths with prospective adoptive and foster families. While public adoptions in Pennsylvania are funded by the Statewide Adoption & Permanency Network (which, separately, Diakon administers for the Commonwealth), Diakon subsidizes its adoption, foster care, and pregnancy programs to assure extensive recruitment and supportive services for prospective and continuing adoptive and foster families. In 2014, that subsidy amounted to $333,317. Older adults served by a Diakon Community Services senior community center in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Skype with children from an elementary school in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, a way of tying generations together. Community-Based Senior Services In addition, program leadership oversees and promotes a wide range of additional external activities to create awareness of the number of children waiting for loving foster and adoptive families. Conservatively, these activities generated additional community impact of more than $500. Total Community Benefit – $109,992 I n Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Diakon Community Services operates numerous programs under contract with the Schuylkill County Office of Senior Services with funding from the state Department of Aging—senior community centers, meals on wheels, PrimeTime Health, and APPRISE. In addition, regional programs include Diakon Living & Learning After 50—which provides “seniorcenter-without-walls-style” educational, cultural, and activities-related events—and Diakon Volunteer Home Care. To make certain these programs reach as many individuals as possible—including people with low and moderate incomes—Diakon provided a 2014 subsidy of $74,619. Diakon Adoption & Foster Care’s York staff recently donated time to prepare a meal for residents of the Ronald McDonald House in Hershey, Pennsylvania, who said they were humbled by the Diakon staff’s kindness—but adoption staff said it was they who were humbled by the family strength they witnessed. In addition, Diakon Community Services provided in-kind support (free meeting space within senior centers) for several community groups, resulting in further community impact of $72. While Diakon authorized use of the space, this figure is not included in Diakon’s overall community impact because lease costs are paid by Schuylkill County. Church & Community Services Total Community Benefit – $143,437 A t one time part of Diakon Family Life Services – Northeastern Pennsylvania, these congregationally focused services transitioned in 2014 to the Office of Church Relations & Ministry Partnerships. Among the services, for which Diakon provided a 2014 subsidy of $143,437, were congregationally based pastoral care team ministries and consultations. However, Diakon Community Services underwrote participation in a community health expo for two other community groups, totaling quantifiable community impact of $238. 20 Staff with Diakon Adult Day Services centers at Ravenwood, Hagerstown, Md., and at Manatawny, Pottstown, Pa.—which received a 2014 Diakon subsidy of $30,302 at the Pottstown site—provided several external community health-related educational sessions. Those events resulted in community impact of $456. In addition, adult day services staff members supervised clinical interns from several health-care organizations, resulting in additional community benefit of $4,305. Volunteers Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit. However, volunteers play a key role in the provision of community-based senior services. Diakon Kathryn’s Kloset participates in numerous events in support of the underserved in various communities. Here, Easter baskets are lined up in the Diakon Kathryn’s Kloset warehouse awaiting distribution at a community event. In 2014, nearly 600 volunteers contributed 18,981 hours of service through Diakon Community Services, Diakon Volunteer Home Care, and Diakon Adult Day Services. Diakon Kathryn’s Kloset Total Community Benefit – $1,772,398 B Diakon Family Life Services ased just outside Baltimore, Diakon Kathryn’s Kloset partners with a wide range of corporations to receive and store donations of cleaning, personal care and other products. The warehouse program then makes those products available, for a small handling fee, to non-profits locally, regionally, nationally and even internationally, to distribute to people in need in their communities, free of charge to the end-recipient. Total Community Benefit – $678,352 T o provide extensive counseling services to people facing challenges and crises, particularly children, families and adult individuals with limited incomes, Diakon subsidized its Diakon Family Life Services counseling centers in the amount of $678,352. In 2014, the program served some 250,000 people through distribution of more than 390,000 products to 186 partner organizations. The value of those products was $1.7 million; subtracting the handling fee of $182,226 yields a community impact of $1,517,774, in addition to the $254,624 Diakon subsidy to operate the program. Approximately 70% of the people served by this program were at or below the poverty level and would not have received care if not for Diakon Family Life Services. 21 Girls on the Run® G irls on the Run is a transformational physical activity-based youth development program for girls in third through eighth grades. The program teaches life skills through interactive lessons and running games, culminating with the girls being physically and emotionally prepared to complete a celebratory 5k running event. The goal of the program is to unleash confidence through accomplishment while establishing a lifetime appreciation for health and fitness. Subsidy for operation of Girls on the Run is included in the amounts noted previously for Diakon Family Life Services (Girls on the Run of Lycoming County) and Diakon Adoption & Foster Care (Girls on the Run of Lehigh County); the Lycoming County program ended in mid-2014 as a result of decreasing funding and community involvement. Participants in Girls on the Run perform a number of community service projects. none of which is included in quantified community benefit figures. As examples, Sarah Yerk, a head coach at Fountain Hill in the Bethlehem School District, noted that her group “cleaned up the grounds of the schools, such as trash and leaves, and readied it for a community day during which volunteers painted the schools,” while Alison Johnson, head coach at Seven Generations Charter School, Emmaus, said her group “had a baked-sale fundraiser, donating half the proceeds to an autism support program and the other half to a local women’s shelter. We also collected items to donate to the shelter.” The subsidy, along with donations and extensive community grants, primarily in Lehigh County, allowed the program to offer greatly reduced fees to numerous participants, many of whom come from families with modest incomes In addition, more than 200 people volunteered nearly 4,000 hours of service to support the program, including more than 100 volunteer coaches. Moreover, local GOTR sites completed approximately 30 community impact projects as part of the educational and healthy living focus of the program, Diakon Youth Services Total Community Benefit – $696,321 D iakon Youth Services provides a range of programs for at-risk youths and young adults, primarily through the Diakon Wilderness Center near Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, and offices in Lancaster and Media, Pennsylvania. Serving young people referred by county juvenile probation departments and children and youth services, as well as county programs responsible for young adults ages 18 to 25, Diakon Youth Services offers such programs as day treatment, weekday support and intervention (such as the Center Point Day Treatment Program, which received the 2014 Commu- The Diakon Wilderness Greenhouse is transitioning in 2015 to include a native-plant nursery. 22 nity-Based Program of the Year award from the Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Judges Commission), the voluntary Flight program, and the weekend alternative program, along with extensive vocational training efforts including the Diakon Wilderness Greenhouse, redesigned in 2015 to include a nativeplant nursery. Volunteers Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit. In 2014, some 120 volunteers from a wide range of community organizations, businesses and colleges contributed more than 1,200 hours of service in support of the Diakon Wilderness Center and its various programs. While most of these services are designed to be funded by county-based referrals, tight reimbursement levels as well as the costs of maintaining the unique Diakon Wilderness Center require significant subsidy. In 2014, that Diakon funding amounted to $692,948. In addition, youths involved in Diakon Youth Services programs take part in extensive communityservice activities as part of their mentoring and educational process. In 2014, those youths provided more than 6,000 hours of service in direct support of such community organizations as the YMCA, Humane League of Lancaster, several urban churches, the Greenbelt Trail Harrisburg, the Adopt-a-Highway program, the Darby Borough “clean-up-thestreets” program, Aston Community Center, W.H. McIntyre Never Forget Foundation, Ride Ataxia, Family House in Pittsburgh, the Appalachian Trail Society, and Freedom Global Outreach in Haiti. Included in that funding, along with proceeds from donations, grants, and Dining with Diakon for Youth Services, held in the Harrisburg region each year, is support for Flight, whose impact is perhaps incalculable when its effect on young lives is considered. That’s because Flight often serves as a “lastchance” program for young adults who have aged out of traditional county-funded services but still need guidance and support to remain successful at home, in school, and at work. Participants have described Flight as their “family,” the group to whom they turn for support, mentoring and guidance. Evidence of the program’s impact is the number of Flight participants employed or attending college full-time, typically 100%. Further, two Diakon Youth Services staff members received Diakon Love of Thy Neighbor funding to assist other non-profit organizations (see the story on Page 25). The amount of that community impact was $1,683. The Diakon Youth Services subsidy also helps to cover provision, along with modest cost to participant groups, of wilderness challenge-based team-building programs for a range of community organizations including Carlisle High School and its alternative education and Herd 100 programs, Carlisle YMCA, Wilson and Dickinson colleges, and additional school programs. In all, 1,089 community residents and students benefited from this externally focused program, expanded in 2015 to include team-development efforts for business groups. In addition, the Diakon Wilderness Greenhouse provided opportunity in 2014 for an internship for a college student. The value of that community impact was $1,690. The Diakon Wilderness Center is expanding its team-building program to serve businesses and other organizations. 23 Diakon Youth Scholarships Total Community Benefit – $74,347 D iakon offers academic scholarships to current and former participants of any Diakon Child, Family & Community Ministries program including youth services, adoption and foster care, and family life counseling services. These funds are identified as provided through either the Charles Merritt Singer or Emma Myers Duttera memorial scholarships, combined in 2009 into the overarching youth services fund. The goal of the scholarship program—the founding dollars for which were intended to assist orphanage students gain educational advantages—is to help young people become productive, contributing members of society. Scholarships assist with highereducation or trade-school tuition, books, or related needs. Kaitlyn Fredo, right, with her mother is one of a number of youths served by various Diakon programs who have received Diakon Youth Scholarships to assist with their education. In place for a number of years, the program has had a significant impact on the lives of young adults. In 2014, Diakon awarded 31 scholarships totaling $74,347 in community impact. Disaster Response Total Community Benefit – $60,397 D iakon serves as a partner with the national Lutheran Disaster Response organization and is the primary Lutheran church-affiliated organization for disaster response in the Delaware-Maryland, Lower Susquehanna, and Upper Susquehanna synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Diakon also responds as needed within the Northeastern Pennsylvania, Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Allegheny synods, as determined by the Lutheran social ministry organizations assigned primary responsibility for those regions. In addition to national and church grants provided during disaster response, Diakon underwrote $60,397 in 2014 subsidy to support this effort— which had significant community impact as Diakon continued extensive work, along with national and regional church and other partners, to finalize rebuilding and renovation efforts in Crisfield, Maryland, devastated by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. The Rev. Phillip Huber stands in front of one of the new homes constructed in Crisfield, Maryland. In 2014, Huber, Diakon’s disaster preparedness and response coordinator in the MarylandDelaware region, received the Maryland Governor’s Citation, an award given in appreciation of the important difference an individual’s efforts have made on the lives of people in need. Huber was honored for his leadership on behalf of the Somerset County Long-Term Recovery Committee working in Crisfield. 24 Mission trip gives deeper meaning to work A fter returning from a nine-day mission trip to Timisoara, Romania, in 2014, Kit Fensterbush found a deeper purpose in her job. “It is easy to get bogged down in the details and forget the mission,” says the office manager for the Diakon Wilderness Center. “Going on a mission trip helps to put a deeper meaning behind what you do day in and day out. You get new ideas. You are refreshed. It is re-orienting.” Kit Fensterbush in Romania, a trip supported in terms of providing additional days off through the Diakon Love of Thy Neighbor Fund. Her trip was supported by Diakon’s Love of Thy Neighbor Fund, which pays for limited additional time off when a staff member is using vacation time to support another nonprofit organization. A former youth pastor, Fensterbush is no stranger to mission work, having organized and led several mission trips with her husband. Together, they decided on the trip to Romania after learning of the impact the church’s pastor and his wife were having on the lives of families in the local community. Despite the steep cost to travel to the country, they made the decision to go and began planning about a year and a half in advance. Fensterbush traveled to Romania with her husband, senior pastor of Zion United Methodist Church in York, Pennsylvania, and seven other volunteers to help a Baptist congregation expand its worship facility and children’s wing; they also assisted a women’s shelter as it prepared for inspection. “We each had to pay about $3,000 just to get there. We also raised about $15,000 that we brought with us so that we could buy building materials there and support the local economy,” she says, adding that some of the money went to hiring the unemployed. “We hired four workers, providing their families with income.” “It was a big learning experience for us, having to understand that you can’t change a culture,” she says, explaining that in the male-dominated society, men were very hesitant to allow the women to do construction-type work. “Our purpose was just to be present, supportive, and helpful in getting them to where they wanted to be when we left.” By the end of their stay, Fensterbush realized that the value of their mission went far beyond the physical labor and materials they provided. “On every mission trip I have taken, I am the one who has been blessed. I am the one who has grown from the relationship with the people I have gone to serve,” she says. “It gives you perspective and an appreciation for where you are when you see the joy that people have in the midst of their struggles. It keeps me grounded on what is really important in life. And that is people—no matter where they are, what language they speak, what condition they are in, they all deserve respect, dignity, care and love.” 25 Additional Community Impact Diakon had additional impact on the community through several other efforts and programs, resulting in a quantified benefit of $21,089. The Love of Thy Neighbor Fund Rental-Assistance Housing Total Community Benefit – $385 D iakon manages four rental-assistance housing complexes in Topton and Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Frostburg, Maryland. While not included in community impact calculations, residents and staff members of these housing programs maintained relationships with a variety of community groups and were involved in numerous events to benefit local communities. F our staff members from Diakon Child, Family & Community Ministries programs, a Diakon Senior Living Community, and a Diakon Ministry Support office received Diakon funding to enable them to serve briefly with other non-profit organizations, often international ones, aiding people in need. Among such efforts were volunteer activities, with more than 100 residents and staff of the communities contributing some 6,600 hours of service in support of the housing programs and community groups. Efforts included bake sales to support youth programs, delivery of meals on wheels, collections of items for children from lower-income families, donations of food and bedding for animal shelters, Red Cross blood drives, and the creation of quilts, afghans, and lap-robes for Lutheran World Relief and a regional hospice program. Three of these grants are included within the community impact figures for a senior living community and a child and family program; the fourth grant was provided to a staff member from Diakon Ministry Support, who received funding to assist his efforts to serve Haitian orphans.The amount of that community impact was $385. While not reported in the community impact figure, Diakon provided $7,960 in 2014 tuition assistance to staff members of Diakon Ministry Support to help them achieve or refine skills to advance the organization’s mission, another community benefit. Community Impact Reporting Total Community Benefit – $20,704 N ational community benefit guidelines allow organizations to report the costs of their community impact programs and reports. In 2014, Diakon spent approximately $20,704 to produce and distribute its community benefit report inclusive of staff time, printing, distribution, and website-related costs. 26 Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries DIAKON Child, Family & Community Ministries Administrative & Ministry Support Office 798 Hausman Road, Suite 300 Allentown, PA 18104-9108 Financial Services & Ministry Support Office 1022 North Union Street Middletown, PA 17057 1-877-DIAKON-7 • (1-877-342-5667) Email: [email protected] www.Diakon.org Diakon’s Mission: In response to God’s love in Jesus Christ, Diakon will demonstrate God’s command to love the neighbor through acts of service. Diakon is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization. All contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Diakon does not discriminate in admissions, the provision of services, or referrals of clients on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other classes protected by law. For additional copies of this report, please contact: Office of Corporate Communications & Public Relations DIAKON 1022 North Union Street Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057 Currents for Good Office of Corporate Communications & Public Relations DIAKON 1022 North Union Street Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057 www.diakon.org