Pennies for Progress Takes Flight at Elant at Goshen

Oct. 12, 2009 - PRLog -- Goshen – A thoughtful look back can definitely equate to a significant step forward.

So say those at Elant at Goshen who recently launched a new internal fundraising effort being labeled “Pennies for Progress.”

The endeavor, which includes more frequent – albeit smaller – fundraising events, is designed to bring in additional money to improve the quality of life for Elant at Goshen residents.

The concept hails from one of Elant at Goshen’s first residents, Maggie Ayers, who nearly 25 years ago moved into Room 113.

Elant at Goshen Activities Director Mark LaBruna remembers Maggie well.

Almost 90 years old when she moved in, Maggie (who has since passed away) was a no-nonsense, straight-talking woman with a drive to make things happen. Her needs were basic, LaBruna recalled, with no frills to muddy up her day. Instead, she’d focus her energy on raising money for the residents, often selling raffle tickets for “baskets of cheer” in the lobby.

“A dollar a chance, a dollar a chance,” she’d say to anyone walking into the lobby. “You got a dollar? How about tomorrow? This is pennies for progress, Dear. It’s just a dollar.”

But those dollars can add up very quickly, agreed Elant at Goshen Executive Director Dana Diorio-Casey, who is helping to spearhead what she hopes will be a long-standing effort.

The “Pennies for Progress” campaign officially kicked off in September and was marked by a raffle of an iPod-centric gift basket (an iPod, gift cards, iPod accessories). Elant at Goshen Nursing Care Center resident Margaret McGuigan was the big winner. She doesn’t know how to work an iPod but was thrilled with the prospect of giving it to a family member as a gift, LaBruna said.

The endeavor raised more than $500. Another raffle – each with a different theme – will be scheduled every month. October’s raffle will feature a Nintendo Wii basket and an iPod basket.

The money raised will be applied to items/tasks/improvements on a resident-specific wish list fashioned to improve the quality of life at Elant at Goshen. The first item on the list: an entertainment package that will include several DVD/VCR units, a flat-screen TV, and a cordless microphone and amplifier (for the music therapy program).

Through “Pennies for Progress,” Elant at Goshen has also increased the number of other small events, like bake sales, plant sales, and Vendor Days. Vendor Days typically involve an outside “vendor,” like Pampered Chef or Tastefully Simple, setting up a display inside the building to sell wears. Elant at Goshen then receives a percentage of the money made.

Diorio-Casey said Elant at Goshen just completed one such event, Flower Power, where $803 in sales were made, netting more than $400 for Elant at Goshen’s renewal fund. In addition, 100 bulbs were donated to the Elant at Goshen Nursing Care Center and another 75 bulbs for the Elant at Goshen Adult Home.

“We were very pleasantly surprised with what we made,” said Diorio-Casey. “We consider it a very positive sign as to what’s to come.”

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Elant, Inc., a community-based, not-for-profit organization, is a network of organizations that provides health and housing services to older adults and chronically ill people of all ages in the Hudson Valley and beyond.