Category: Newsletter

Tancy Morris, Congregate Meals Director

Congregate Meal Program Newsletter

February 2023

From July 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022, we have served 38,217 meals to 675 unduplicated clients.

The senior center participation is holding strong through the winter months whereas in the past we would see a decline in participation throughout the winter.

In January we distributed 2540 vouchers to 254 participants in the Meade County voucher program.

This program continues to grow each month.

Our Radcliff center has always been a 2 day a week site. We are now serving meals out of that location 5 days per week. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday’s are drive thru only meals and Tuesday and Friday’s participates can dine in or pick up in the drive thru. We are happy to be able to serve our participants in that location a hot meal 5 days per week now.

Ida Kyle, site coordinator at Griffin Manor in Elizabethtown has retired. Ida was a loyal employee to CKCAC for many years. We wish her the very best in her retirement. Since, Ida’s retirement we have hired Grace Compton as the new site coordinator for that location. Grace has been a wonderful asset to our team and we are thrilled to have her!

I am in the process of hiring a site coordinator in Grayson. Jeannette Salmon has worked at the Wal-Mart deli in Leitchfield for 14 years. We are excited to welcome her to our team.

We are actively searching for an assistant cook in Grayson County and a full time head cook in Nelson County.

Melissa Bland, RSVP Director

Central Kentucky Community Action Council is proud to be the regional affiliate for one of the largest volunteer networks in the nation, the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program.

Best known as RSVP, our volunteers continue to be a lifeline to non-profit organizations, public agencies, and faith-based group, all of which rely on their support to meet the rising demand for services.

RSVP volunteers choose how, where, and how often they want to serve. Commitment hours can range anywhere from a few hours per month to almost full time, though the average commitment is four hours per week.

RSVP Volunteer Requirements

The only requirements are that all volunteers must be at least 55 years old and willing to serve in Hardin or Nelson County.

RSVP Volunteer Benefits

• RSVP volunteers will receive monthly mileage reimbursement to and from their work station. The current monthly maximum is $60 per month.

• RSVP volunteers will receive insurance coverage to and from their workstation and while at their work station.

• Transportation to and from the workstation can be arranged and paid for any RSVP volunteer that does not drive.

• All volunteers will be invited to an annual appreciation luncheon where they can win door prizes! 

Contact Information

Contact Melissa Bland, RSVP Director, at 270-737-1059 or rsvp.director@ckcac.org if you would like more information including the benefits offered to all volunteers.

You are also welcome to stop by the RSVP office which is in the Griffin Manor Senior Center, 1119 Johnstown Road in Elizabethtown. 

Hal B. Goode, Executive Director

It’s been two years since the last Senior Celebration due to COVID but this year the Lincoln Trail Service Providers will hold the Senior Celebration on May 25, 2023 from 9 AM – 2 PM at the Pritchard Community Center at 404 S. Mulberry Street in Elizabethtown. 

 This is a wonderful time to celebrate with our Seniors. The event is FREE and some of the activities are:

·        Speakers

·        Vendors and booths

·        Live Entertainment and Music

·        Workshops

·        Exercise

·        Bingo

·        Lunch

·        Door Prizes and much more.

Also, if you have a Senior who is looking for Transportation you may contact the Central KY Community Action Transportation (CATS) at 270-692-2136 or 1-800-242-8225.  Contact the Lincoln Trail ADD for more information at 270-769-2393.

More to come……..much more

Kerri Taylor, Transportation Director

February 2023 Newsletter

I am happy again to report that CKCATS trip capacity continues to increase! We are still able to provide all of our services, despite the shortage of staff. Our Drivers in all counties work and communicate together to help one another with completing trips.

Our FY23 Compliance Reviews with the Office of Transportation and Lincoln Trail Area Development District both came back without any findings. Thanks to all those who helped in pulling information together for these reviews!

There is still a shortage of the transit and buses that CKCATS uses for transporting, but we did receive word that CKCATS would be eligible to receive four of the five 12×2 vehicles that we requested from the FY23 grant applications. According to OTD, there were fifty 12×2 vehicles available and they were able to divvy out the vehicles appropriately to ensure that each Agency would receive a portion of the available vehicles. We are expecting these vehicles to arrive within the next few months.

We now have 3 billboard signs promoting Intercity travel. 1 billboard is on the Marion/Washington county line and 2 are in Hardinsburg. We hope that this advertisement brings an increase of Intercity trips.

I attended the Kentucky Public Transit Authority (KPTA) Conference, along with several CKCATS employees and Executive Director, Hal Goode. This conference was held November 14-16 in Lexington, KY. This is an excellent conference to receive valuable information about public transportation and a great way to network.

CKCATS will be holding its annual Coordination Meeting on Feb. 15^th at the Central Office in Lebanon at 1 pm EST. This meeting is held to discuss the transportation needs of our counties and is advertised to the public. We encourage anyone who is interested in public transportation to attend.

I am excited to announce the new staff positions that have been added to CKCATS! Tasha Hull is the new Grant & Compliance Manager. This is a new position to CKCATS. Tasha will be reviewing and completing grant applications each year, as well as researching new grants that may be available to CKCATS. She will also assist in Compliance Reviews for all programs as well as making sure CKCATS remains in compliance with all federal and state regulations. Edward Murray has also taken on a new position at CKCATS as the Maintenance Manager. Edward Murray will be responsible for the maintenance of the fleet as well as the maintenance of the facilities in all counties. Edward Murray comes to us with years of experience in vehicle and building maintenance as well as DOT inspection experience. With the increase in trips and the volume of daily calls to the current Fleet Manager, Daryl Hardin, I added another Fleet Manager to help manage the 5 counties. William Clements, along with Daryl Hardin, will be responsible for overseeing the drivers, handling scheduling and driver issues, reviewing and completing the mileage report, and reviewing driver manifest and timesheets. We welcome each of them to the team!

With that being said, CKCATS has a wonderful and dedicated group of staff! Thanks to the staff for working diligently to keep up with the increases of trips and for showing up to get the job done even in inclement weather!

If you or anyone you know would like to join the staff at CKCATS please go to careers@ckcac.org to apply. CKCATS is hiring for full-time and part-time drivers in Marion, Larue, Nelson, Breckinridge and Grayson counties.

Kerri Taylor

Transportation Director

Courtney Campbell, SCP Director

The Senior Companion Program (SCP) is actively looking for volunteers! 

The SCP Program recruits volunteers that are aged 55 or older to provide in-home services to the frail elderly that helps them remain living independently in their own homes. SCP volunteers provide companionship, light housecleaning, light meal preparation, short distance transportation, and respite care. All services are delivered at no cost to the client or recipient. We currently serve six counties: Breckinridge, Grayson, Hardin, Marion, Nelson, and Washington. 

Senior Companions are continuing to provide their companionship services within the homes of our communities. The SCP is still feeling the lingering effects from Covid19. There are currently 19 active volunteers, and we are hopeful to keep increasing the number of volunteers throughout the year! Last year our volunteers provided over 18,500 hours of service combined, to help keep our seniors in their homes! 

Martha ‘Jewell’ Bartley, Head Start Quality Assurance Manager

Tammy Stanley, Head Start Director

Head Start continues to follow its mission to deliver quality education services for children and families to be school ready while engaging partnerships and community resources. Recently our program was selected to be a part of a national pilot program for CLASS review. This review is conducted virtually, and we are in the process of completing these observations. 

We continue engage our families through home visits, monthly parent meetings and activities. We have initiated Family Literacy Nights in our centers. The Literacy Nights are part of Ready 4K, the research based parenting curriculum used. The literacy nights focus on building school ready skills but most importantly, our families do activities together. 

Above are pictures from the literacy nights at the Lebanon and Bardstown Centers. Parents and children engage with staff in activities during our Literacy Nights. 

Hal Goode, Executive Director

Are you making a resolution in the new year? Warning: More than half of all resolutions fail, but this year, they don’t have to be yours. Here’s how to identify the right resolution to improve your life, create a plan on how to reach it, and become part of the small group of people that successfully achieve their goal.

Pick the Right Resolution

You’ll give yourself your best shot at success if you set a goal that’s doable — and meaningful too.

You have a realistic plan for achieving your resolution.

Your goals should be smart — and SMART. That’s an acronym from 1981 for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound. It may work for management, but it can also work in setting your resolutions, too.

Specific. Your resolution should be clear. “Making a concrete goal is important rather than just vaguely saying ‘I want to lose weight.’ You want to have a goal: How much weight do you want to lose and at what time interval?”

Measurable. This may seem obvious if your goal is a fitness or weight loss related one, but it’s also important if you’re trying to cut back on something, too. Logging progress into a journal or making notes on your phone or in an app designed to help you track behaviors can reinforce the progress, no matter what your resolution may be.

Achievable. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have big stretch goals. But trying to take too big a step too fast can leave you frustrated or affect other areas of your life to the point that your resolution takes over your life — and both you and your friends and family fail.

Relevant. Is this a goal that really matters to you, and are you making it for the right reasons? If you do it out of the sense of self-hate or remorse or a strong passion in that moment, it doesn’t usually last long.

Time-bound. Like “achievable,” the timeline toward reaching your goal should be realistic, too. That means giving yourself enough time to do it with lots of smaller intermediate goals set up along the way. Focus on these small wins so you can make gradual progress.

Happy New Year and here’s to a prosperous 2023.  I know it will be a busy one for our team.  More to come…. much more……..

…

Ellen Leake, CSBG Director

This is the busiest time of year for the Community Services Staff. We completed the Subsidy Component for LIHEAP in December, collaborated with other service organizations in our communities for a successful Christmas Program, and began the LIHEAP Crisis Program earlier this month.

LIHEAP SUBSIDY In our eight county services area, we assisted 3281 families with home heating assistance in the amount of $416,371.00 this program began on October 10, 2022 with the pre-registration, and ran through December 16, 2022. The program proceeded smoothly, with few problems, thanks to the hard work of our dedicated staff members. We, in the Central Office, continue to work to pay all of the vendors and balance the program. 

County	Benefit Amount	Families Served
Breckinridge	$55,511.00	440
Grayson	$81,570.00	627
Hardin	$68,658.00	573
Larue	$ 29,101.00	220
Marion	$ 61,559.00	491
Meade	$ 39,004.00	297
Nelson	$ 40,092.00	339
Washington Central Office	$36,698.00 $4,178.00	264 30

LIHEAP Crisis began on January 9, 2023.

We are in the process of completing the annual Needs Assessment Survey Process.  An email link has been sent to the Board of Directors for their input. Please select a board member. This survey information will be entered into a database for accurate compilation. The results of the Needs Assessment Survey will determine the work plan for the next program year. The information will also be available to other programs and to the community.

Wintercare, Winterhelp, Warmhearts – These Programs are available to families for utility assistance. These funds are donated by utility customers as they pay their utility bill, and sometimes matched by the utility company in local areas.

Thank you to all the staff members who work so hard to balance all of these different programs and assist those in need.  Their amazing efforts are greatly appreciated in our communities. We have a great team!

David Lindsey, Weatherization Program Director

The Weatherization Program (WX) is fully staffed and has 60 clients on the waiting list for weatherization services as of January 2023. The Weatherization Program is providing weatherization services to our 8-county area with 8 jobs completed, 16 walkaways, 1 cancellation, and 18 jobs in-progress. The Weatherization Program is fully staffed with an in-house crew, and we are utilizing contractors to perform HVAC and Electrical work that we must perform to the dwellings receiving services. We look forward to the future of the new contract year of CKCAC’s Weatherization Program to progress and better serve our 8-county service area.

Our goal with weatherization is to continue to reduce energy waste and assure the health and safety of each client we serve through testing consisting of; aliening air and thermal boundaries, pressure diagnostics, heating system diagnostics, indoor air quality, and base load energy consumption diagnostics.

Central Kentucky Community Action Council WX program is fully staffed with a highly trained supporting and technical staff consisting of Denny Baxter, Dwelling Needs Evaluator EA/QCI; Josh Mattingly, Crew Leader; Mike Burden, Retrofit Installer; Seth Riggs, Retrofit Installer and Barbara Garrett, Weatherization Administrative Support Specialist. We would like to say a huge thank you to all WX staff for their dedication for improving the quality of work and the dedication to ensure the health and safety of all the clients we serve.

Central Kentucky Community Action Council’s has leveraged funds from utilities to expand the reach of the Weatherization Assistance Program. This year we are leveraging funding from DOE, DOE BIL, LIHEAP, East Kentucky Power, Kentucky Utilities, and Louisville Gas & Electric.