CEA Foundation Extends Grant to Selfhelp; Foundation’s First Grantee Continues to Change Lives

ARLINGTON, Va.--()--The CEA Foundation announced that it will continue to support its first grantee, Selfhelp Community Services, as Selfhelp seeks to extend and enhance the Virtual Senior Center (VSC) within the communities they are working. Selfhelp intends to implement the lessons learned in its first phase and incorporate those lessons moving forward with its participants, facilitators, project sites, other community partners and independent evaluator.

Two years ago when CEA Foundation first supported Selfhelp the program was located solely in New York City. Now they have expanded their presence in New York while also supporting users in Baltimore, Chicago and San Diego. The CEA Foundation and Selfhelp together are addressing social isolation among vulnerable homebound elderly through Selfhelp’s VSC program.

“Selfhelp’s Virtual Senior Center is an ideal program for the CEA Foundation as it utilizes consumer technologies to aid socially isolated seniors. The program leads to an inspirational change in the participants, leverages technology to expand seniors’ social network and makes us proud to be able to partner to support this program,” said John Shalam, chairman of the CEA Foundation.

“I knew the program would make an impact, but I didn’t expect it to happen that fast or be that transformative,” said Barbara, project coordinator in Chicago.

“This grant will help us as we seek to build upon the lessons learned through the collaborative multi-site activities and research already conducted, expand the programmatic activities for participants, and both study and pilot sustainability models,” said Leo M. Asen, vice president of senior communities.

Selfhelp is working on deepening the program within communities, along with developing new programmatic opportunities for the participants as well as their caregivers. There will be a focus on expanding intergenerational programs where there is an opportunity for interaction across the generations. In addition, Selfhelp will focus on developing new services that can be directed to the homebound clients where the cost of traditional care was either prohibitively expensive or not possible.

Selfhelp’s Virtual Senior Center Program remains changing lives…every day.

About Selfhelp

Selfhelp is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to maintaining the independence and dignity of seniors and at-risk populations through a spectrum of housing, home health care, and social services and will lead in applying new methods and technologies to address changing needs of its community. Selfhelp will continue to serve as the "last surviving relative" to its historic constituency, victims of Nazi persecution.

About CEA Foundation

The CEA Foundation is a public, national foundation affiliated with the Consumer Electronics Association. It was established with the mission to link seniors and people with disabilities with technologies to enhance their lives. The Foundation is focused on strategic support of programs to impact these communities and has launched its first series of grants in 2012. It also serves to facilitate dialog between industry, consumers, government, advocacy groups and other key stakeholders around important issues. For more information on the CEA Foundation please visit CEAFoundation.org.

Contacts

Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)
Tara Dunion, 703-907-7419
tdunion@CE.org
www.CE.org
or
CEA Foundation
Steve Ewell, 703-907-7660
sewell@CE.org
www.CEAFoundation.org

Contacts

Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)
Tara Dunion, 703-907-7419
tdunion@CE.org
www.CE.org
or
CEA Foundation
Steve Ewell, 703-907-7660
sewell@CE.org
www.CEAFoundation.org