Gramatan Village Receives Grant from Village to Village Network
 Village to Village Network Awards $54,000 to Villages to Create Sustainable Models
to Support Aging in Community
Gramatan Village Receives Award
NCB Capital Impact and MetLife Foundation Help Village Movement Focus on Sustainability
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 6, 2011) – 12 grassroots “Villages” across the U.S. were awarded $54,000 by the Village to Village Network to support the creation of a sustainable business and organizational infrastructure for their Village organizations. Villages were created through a grassroots movement so that older Americans can age in their community with maximum independence and dignity. In May 2011, MetLife Foundation awarded $350,000 to NCB Capital Impact to support the expansion of the Village to Village Network (VtV Network) with its partner Beacon Hill Village. These Business/Operation Sustainability Grants stem from this overall expansion initiative.
“When you think about the fact that by 2032, there will be more people over 65 than people under 15, we have no time to lose in getting sustainable Villages in place,” noted Candace Baldwin, co-director of the Village to Village Network.
Villages are self-governing, membership driven, non-profit organizations run by small staffs and volunteers working together to build welcoming communities, provide social supports, and coordinate affordable services, including transportation, in-home medical care, home repairs and other day-to-day needs for people wishing to remain in their home and communities. In 2010, NCB Capital Impact and Beacon Hill Village launched the VtV Network to provide a national peer-to-peer network to help communities establish and sustain their own Villages.
“With the U.S. population age 65 and over expected to double in size within the next 25 years, it is even more critical to establish sustainable practices that allow older Americans to remain in their own homes and engaged with their communities as they age,” said Dennis White, MetLife Foundation president and CEO. “The growing ‘Village’ model is achieving this in a sustainable way as it helps people help themselves,” he added.
The 12 Villages will use their grant funds to develop sound business solutions and innovative approaches to sustainability, membership retention and strategic partnership strategies. Additionally, the grantees will share lessons learned and successful models with the VtV Network. The 12 Villages awarded grants include:
Marin Village, San Rafael: California
Lincoln Park Village: Chicago, Illinois
Westchester Playa Village: Los Angeles, California
Dupont Circle Village: District of Columbia
East Rock Village: New Haven, Connecticut
Monadonock at Home, Jaffrey: New Hampshire
Sacramento Mountain Village: Ruidoso, New Mexico
Midtown Village: Lincoln, Nebraska
Capital City Village: Austin, Texas
Elderhelp of San Diego: San Diego, California
San Francisco Village: San Francisco, California
Gramatan Village: Bronxville, New York
Today, there are approximately 65 operating Villages in the U.S., and over 115 communities that are in some stage of developing a Village. Currently, 178 organizations are members of the VtV Network.
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Gramatan Village members visited our Community Partner, The Wartburg Adult Care Community –they enjoyed a healthy lunch and then participated in an exercise class – they learned gentle stretching exercises that can be done at home.
Gramatan Village offered its members one-on-one Medicare counseling. Tim Oberg, a volunteer with the Medicare Rights Center’s Seniors Out Speaking (SOS) program, visited the Gramatan Village office to answer members’ questions and helped them to resolve issues with Medicare.
