December 1, 1999

Grant benefits caregiver program

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
       The elderly in northwest Michigan just got an assist from the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation. An assist to the tune of $10,000 from the Campbell Fund, which will be used for the Interfaith Partners in Cargiving program coordinated by the Catholic Human Services.
      This grant will be coupled with a matching $10,000 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation received by the agency earlier this fall. Together the money will allow Interfaith Partners in Cargiving to continue training and administering volunteer caregivers from faith communities around the region.
      "Our mission is to fill in the gaps in services," said Rev. Barbara Hoig, director of Interfaith Partners in Caregiving.
      "Our volunteers help people who have run out of services, can't afford services or who have all the services available but need more. It's fun to see faith communities catch the vision or our mission and run with it."
      This is a mission that dovetails perfectly with the stated mission of the Campbell Fund, one of 45 Community Enrichment Funds administered by the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation.
      "The Campbell fund was set up to fund organizations who are interested in keeping people at home, whether elderly, disabled or whatever," noted Dr. Ken Taylor, an advisor to the Campbell Fund and co-chair of the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation. "We grant the earnings of the fund, which this year amounts to $80,000."
      The Interfaith Partners in Cargiving presently has 110 trained caregivers from 22 faith communities in Leelanau, Antrim, Kalkaska and Grand Traverse Counties. Since its inception three years ago, the program has made a difference in the lives of more than 600 elderly clients in the region. In addition to providing training and monthly support meetings for volunteer caregivers, the Interfaith Partners in Caregiving also helps faith communities around the region set up their own.
      "We provide the linkages between human services agencies, health care providers and faith communities," said Barb Mikowski, supervisor of the Gerontological Services Unit of the Catholic Human Services. "This is really a good coming together of people."