Tammy Glenn, executive director at Caregivers, and staff.
by Carol Leish, MA
The 2024 Legacy Award winners were announced on November 13, 2024, at the Ventura County Area Agency on Aging’s (VCAAA) Advisory Council meeting by the Optimal Aging Committee’s chair, Alice Sweetland. The Legacy Awards, which have been awarded since 2018, recognize the contributions of Ventura County residents and organizations that dedicate their lives to helping older adults, people with disabilities, and their caregivers to live optimally. Legacy Awards have been presented annually to a local business organization, to a Dementia Friendly business/organization, and to community members/volunteers.
CAREGIVERS: Volunteers Assisting the Elderly got the Award for Business/Organization. It was founded in 1984, and has developed a community-based model to meet a growing need for assistance for older adults. The mission is to promote the health, well-being, dignity, and independence of frail, homebound older adults through one-on-one relationships with carefully screened, trusted, and trained volunteers. It provides non-medical, in-home support services and transportation that helps to prevent premature placement into board and care facilities. This makes it possible for these older adults to continue to live in the comfort and security of their own homes. Through the assistance of volunteers, these older adults’ confidence and self-esteem improves their quality of life. Tammy Glenn, MBA, is the Executive Director.
Santa Clara Valley Hospice won the Award for Dementia Friend Business/Organization. It has served residents within the Santa Clara River Valley, including Santa Paula, Piru, Fillmore, Somis, Saticoy and East Ventura, since 1980. It has a mission of continuing a commitment of support and care through service, compassion and empathy for those with terminal and life-limiting illnesses, and their families. Services are free of charge, since generous donations have been made by the community. Caregiver support groups, training, and respite care are provided. They also provide a free medical supplies program that has distributed more than 100,000 pieces of equipment for those in need.
Marty Blumenthal got the Award for Community Member/Volunteer. He began his involvement with Senior Concerns when his wife Debbie was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Besides taking on the role of caregiver for his wife, he also began volunteering as a home-delivered meals driver for Senior Concerns in 2021. He would bring his wife with him on the deliveries in order for them to stay active together, and to give back to the community. He also joined the Board of Directors of Senior Concerns, and has been very active in generating support and raising awareness of the organization’s mission. He joined a caregiver’s support group in order to better assist his wife. He is also involved with the Alzheimer’s Association, the Westlakers, and the Westlake Yacht Club. He is definitely an advocate for helping others.
Sylvia Fulton won the Award for Community Member/Volunteer. She joined the City of Oxnard’s Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) back in 2007. She is still active in the program at the age of 97. She has been an instructor with the RSVP Bone Builders program, which she started as a participant. As an instructor, she has become a master trainer and is a constant advocate for the program, her fellow instructors, and its many participants. She has amassed almost 8,300 hours of recorded service, with many more hours that haven’t been recorded. In 2017, at the age of 90, she and another volunteer were honored by the Ventura County Fire Department for actions taken to pull a woman out of a home that was on fire. Sylvia credited her years of weight-lifting in Bone Builders for the ability to help the panicked neighbor.
To learn more about Caregivers Volunteers Assisting the Elderly, visit vccaregivers.org, email [email protected], or call 805-658-8630. To learn more about the Santa Clara Valley Hospice, visit SantaClaraValleyHospice.org, email [email protected] or call 805-525-1333.
