By Heather Kincel and Ron Church

November is a time when we pause our busy schedules to give thanks. Thanks to our family, thanks to our friends, thanks for our health and thanks to living in a community that cares. We also prepare for colder weather, the upcoming holidays and spending time with family in November. But not everyone in our community can do that, and the Rufty-Holmes Senior Center looks to help our aging neighbors. This is not an undertaking any one organization can do alone; it is through great partners like the United Way of Rowan County that pave the way in our community.

According to the Rowan County Aging Profile from 2022, 47 percent of our county’s population is over 60. Many of those aging neighbors live at or below poverty; 28 percent of them live alone, and 37 percent have a diagnosed disability. This can be challenging for them, as they may feel isolated and lonely while struggling to remain independent at home.

Fortunately, the United Way of Rowan County has focused on Community Needs since 2020. Rufty-Holmes is one of 21 organizations that benefit from our local United Way. It helped us launch our CARS Program to transport aging adults to medical appointments, our congregate meal sites and the center, to name a few. But most recently, United Way has supported our HOME Program.

Our HOME Program offers minor home repairs for Rowan County adults 55 and older. Volunteers and contractors build ramps, build and repair handrails, install grab bars and trim overgrown landscapes. The program aims to lessen the anxieties of safety, costs, general home maintenance and uncertainty for our aging neighbors.

Older adults prefer to stay in their homes and neighborhoods and feel community. The HOME Repair program’s donors, staff, volunteers and workers assist our county’s older adults in living safe, healthy and independent lives in the homes and neighborhoods they love. Thanks to the Rowan County United Way’s partner grant, Rufty-Holmes Senior Center can begin to meet the need for safe, affordable housing for older adults in Rowan County. 

The writer of Ecclesiastes (and American songwriter Pete Seeger) notes well, ‘To everything; there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.” For our older adults, that time is now, and we boldly ask for your support at this time and month of Thanksgiving to give back in a way that is seen and felt and will have a ripple effect in our community.  

Please donate to the Rowan County United Way’s annual campaign this month. Funds help support local programs addressing mental health, substance use, healthy lifestyle behaviors and basic needs. Donate through its website or stop by its offices or the senior center to get a donation form. Rowan County’s older adults will be blessed by your giving, and thank you for the gift of a safe, secure home.

Heather Kincel is the executive director and Ron Church is the community outreach manager at Rufty-Holmes Senior Center