Health’s Angels is a St. David’s Community Health Foundation service group created to support nonprofit organizations assisting older adults and their caregivers. The focus area was chosen for its immediacy, as the numbers of our population aged 65 and older are climbing rapidly without a corresponding increase in services, and for its resonance with individual families who face the challenges of aging. Membership is open to women and men in Central Texas with annual dues of $100. Each member will have the opportunity to assist in choosing a grant recipient, help implement a public awareness campaign, and be a public service ambassador to help meet the needs of the elderly.

Volunteer work: Health's Angels will work with local aging-services providers to pinpoint volunteer opportunities for its members, then match members with those agencies. Members may volunteer as much as they are able - there is no minimum service requirement, and members are encouraged to involve their families in their service hours.

Grant-making: St. David's Community Health Foundation is providing $50,000 to Health's Angels for the purposes of awarding a grant to an aging-services provider. Members of the group will read proposals, hear from grant applicants, and choose the final recipient of the grant. Any 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in Central Texas will be eligible to apply for this grant (including organizations currently funded by SDCHF), and those organizations are encouraged to think creatively about this proposal and apply for funding for an innovative project or need that they have not applied for before because it may not have fit other grant restrictions.

Public awareness: St. David's Community Health Foundation is providing $50,000 to Health's Angels for the development and implementation of a public awareness campaign focusing on the need to volunteer to serve the elderly.

For more information on membership, please e-mail Community Events Manager Tina Prentice. To join Health's Angels, please click here. For more information on aging issues, the St. David's Community Health Foundation Focus on... Elder Care newsletter is archived online.