Serving our Seniors Magazine January - March 2025

Serving Our Seniors has contracts with two small businesses to perform small home repairs. Dustin Reiter, owner of Father & Son Do-It-All Services and Andrew Norcross, owner of Hotshot Home Repairs . Both have glowing customer recommendations and character references; passed federal and state criminal background checks, provided proof of 1 million in liability insurance and in the event the businesses were convicted, in a court of law, for stealing from a customer, both are covered to compensate the victim for a loss of up $25,000.00. Serving Our Seniors’ Handyman Program is designed to do a variety of small home maintenance and home repair jobs. It is easier to keep a small repair small compared to costly major home repairs. One such example is cleaning the gutters. When gutters fill up with leaves, this can prevent downspouts from draining. This can cause the gutters to backup and overflow. If not addressed, this could lead to several costly issues. The home’s overhang’s / soffit’s could become damaged; in the winter, water and debris can freeze, causing ice to backup under the shingles and cause roof and ceiling damage. Water flowing over the gutter could fall against the outside walls of the home. If the ground around the home is not graded, so water flows away from the home, the overflowing gutters could cause the water to leak into the basement. Gutter cleaning is easier and more economical than repairing the roof, shingles, overhangs, ceilings or wet basements. For more information about The Handyman Program, call Serving Our Seniors (419-624-1856). Ask to speak with a Senior Advocate Assistant. Keep a Small Home Repair Small Sandusky City Schools and Serving Our Seniors recognize they have no idea what it must be like for grandparents – especially older grandparents age 60+ -- who are raising grandchildren, today. Both realize this is something they need to understand, if they are going to be effective organizations. To learn how to do this, they have decided to ask the experts, who are the grandparents, themselves. The Sandusky Schools Chief of Staff, Dennis Muratori; Director of Curriculum & Instruction, Chris Norwell Fischer, a variety of teachers and social workers; representatives from the court system, along with Serving Our Seniors Advocate, Dianna Hearn and the Director Sue Daugherty, met with grandparents raising grandchildren. On November 4, 2024, from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at Ebenezer Baptist Church, the morning started with a light breakfast and discussion. Jodi Pfarr, author of Urgency of Awareness and Diversity and Inclusion Consultant, facilitated the conversation between grandparents, the schools, the court and Serving Our Seniors. Grandparents who are raising grandchildren: Kathy Agee Pace, Isadore Cunningham, Rachelle Lombardy, Betty Chaney, and Catherine Miller Giving a Voice to Grandparents Raising Grandchildren provided helpful direction and guidance to the staff of the schools, court and Serving Our Seniors. The grandparents recommended changes that would help/support of grandparents in the following areas: • Help grandparents in their efforts to communicate with the court system. • Help grandparents in their quest to provide enough food for the grandchildren. • Help grandparents to maintain their own health, and the health of their grandchildren. The day concluded with a complimentary lunch from Chick-Fil-A of Sandusky, gift card drawings for the grandparents and each family received bags of groceries provided by OH Go. On February 14, 2025 , The Sandusky City Schools and Serving Our Seniors will be meeting to report back to the expert grandparents on the progress made implementing their recommendations. Additional grandparents who are raising grandchildren in the Sandusky City Schools are invited to participate. For more information, call Sandusky City Schools, 419-984-1016. Ask to speak with Chief of Staff, Dennis Muratori, before February 1, 2025. 7