Hyde Park Center Grant Funds “Social Bridging” Programs for Seniors

Funded by Greater Cincinnati Foundation & United Way of Greater Cincinnati’s COVID-19 Regional Response Fund.

Hyde Park Center for Older Adults (HPCOA) was awarded $10,000 from the COVID-19 Regional Response Fund activated by Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF) and United Way of Greater Cincinnati (UWGC) to address its local community needs.

Historically, HPCOA served seniors from seven Cincinnati neighborhoods with transportation, wellness and learning, social work support and onsite meals. The pandemic (and social distancing) necessitated the Center think differently about how to help them.

HPCOA conceived a new “Social Bridging” program. Rather than focusing on the distance needed between people, HPCOA staff and volunteers want to build bridges, actively reaching out and connecting with seniors who have become isolated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This grant also allows the center to continue providing home-delivered meals and needed supplies and services to program participants.

Finally, the grant provides seed money for new HPCOA online health and wellness programs. These are all programs that the center has created or reworked to serve the urgent need of its neighbors. This important work would simply not have been possible without this grant.

“Smaller community organizations like ours serve in critical ways. One-on-one in many instances, with our neighbors who really need services,” said HPCOA Executive Director Shelley Goering. “We are so grateful to the United Way and Greater Cincinnati Foundation for this grant, empowering us to do just that.”