Vantage Aging: Serving the Seasoned Members of Our Community

Featuring:

CVCA’s Katherine Downing , Max Pastoria, and Alicia Chamberlain meet with Vantage Aging’s Amina Hall and Ted Watko

Photo by Joash Bloom

Vantage Aging’s Mission

“We are all going to be at the age where we might need a helping hand, where we might need a friend to rely on, or where we might need resourc­es from our community,” says Amina Hall, Director of Com­munity Engagement at Van­tage Aging. “We want to make sure that individuals age with dignity and that their caregivers have a peace of mind.” Vantage Aging, founded in 1975 as Ma­ture Services, promotes a pos­itive perspective on aging and focuses on serving the senior population. Headquartered in Akron, the nonprofit accom­plishes its mission through its four core programs.

   Meals on Wheels of Northeast Ohio

One such program is Meals on Wheels of Northeast Ohio. Through this program, which Vantage looks to grow, the organization provides over half a million home delivered meals to the senior population in Stark, Summit, and Wayne counties every year. Meeting the needs of more than one issue, this gives volunteers the opportunity to visit those who are often lonely. Especially during the COVID-19 pandem­ic, isolation heightened among this demographic, detrimen­tal to their mental health. In addition to this, the Meals on Wheels program allows volun­teers to check on those in need. Deemed the “safety check” by those at Vantage, if volunteers notice a possible danger or something amiss, they notify the client’s emergency contact, thus mitigating possible risks and dangers and promoting the overall health and wellness of those they serve.

   Work­force Solutions

Another program, Work­force Solutions, provides job training and additional skill services for those aged fifty-five and older who are looking to get back into the workforce. Reaching thirty-eight counties, the federally funded program aims to place them in unsubsi­dized employment at another company.

   Retired and Senior Volunteer Program

The third program Vantage offers is the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program. This addi­tional federally funded program is for individuals aged fifty-five and older who may have retired and are looking for some way to serve their community and help other nonprofits further their missions as well. This program is in seven counties throughout the State of Ohio, being recent­ly expanded just a couple years ago.

   Home Well­ness Solutions Group

The fourth core program Vantage offers is its Home Well­ness Solutions Group. Through this, the organization provides homemaker, chore, and person­al care services to individuals in their homes in Summit, Por­tage, Stark, and Wayne coun­ties. The goal of this program is to allow these people to stay in their home without having to go to a nursing home or assisted living, thus alleviating many of the financial burdens of institutional living.

The Vantage Difference

At Vantage, a healthy and caring culture among employ­ees and volunteers is essential. “The most important thing is the services we provide for the senior population,” explains Ted Watko, CEO of Vantage Aging. “The second is having a good organizational culture.” This culture is spearheaded by strong leadership that is dedi­cated to the mission and well­being of not only the clients the organization serves, but also the volunteers and employees as well.

“So when the expectations and the stakes are high, when you need to serve your com­munity more than ever, you want to have that good caring culture,” Hall added. The ne­cessity for this culture was seen throughout the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic, where Vantage had to reevaluate its mostly in-person, physical interactions with not only its employees, but the demograph­ic it serves as well. “It really felt like a family environment,” de­scribes Watko. “We had to react and plan. We all knew we had to beat the pandemic so every­body pulled together and relied on one another’s strengths.”

Through its services to the seasoned members of Akron and surrounding communities, the volunteers, who give their time at Vantage, benefit too. “They are smiling, you are feed­ing them, and you have a nice little conversation. What’s there not to feel good about? And it’s that immediate gratification our volunteers feel,” states Hall. “You don’t have to wait a week to see what the results of your labors are. So that’s really the hook. Once we can get volun­teers in the door, they usually don’t leave,” she continues.

Thriving at the AES Building

The headquarter offices of Vantage Aging reside in the AES Building in Akron at 388 South Main Street on the cor­ner of Cedar and South Main streets. According to Watko, “There could not be a better fit and location for our orga­nization.” Formerly located on Romig Road, the downtown Akron location gives Vantage accessibility to the demo­graphic it serves. The location also allows the nonprofit to be closer to its partners like the Akron Chamber of Commerce and the Akron Community Foundation. Additionally, the AES building is a perfect cul­tural fit for Vantage. “It really felt like a family environment,” says Watko, commenting on the first time he visited the build­ing. “When you walk in your house, you just kind of have that feeling that you’re home. We had that feeling when we walked into the building.” The AES Building offers over a thousand, free, suburban-style parking spaces for visitors and employees. AES shares its prop­erty line with the Ohio and Erie towpath hike and bike trail, and is amidst the many cultural, music, arts, food, educational, entertainment, government and transportation amenities of an urban setting. The loca­tion with its many amenities makes the AES Building the place “where businesses thrive” in Akron, including welcom­ing Vantage which now calls it home.

Through The Schip­per Group’s connection to Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, two students from the School of Business and En­trepreneurship had the chance to interview Vantage Aging’s CEO and Director of Commu­nity Engagement. These stu­dents, Katherine Downing, and Maxwell Pastoria were accom­panied by the program’s Direc­tor, Alicia Chamberlain.

Get Involved

Vantage Aging relies heavily upon its partners like Akron Community Foundation and Direction Home for support. Just as essential to their mission is volunteerism. Through the service of individuals in Akron and surrounding communities, the organization’s four core programs, especially Meals on Wheels of Northeast Ohio, are made possible. Additionally, Tuesday, November 30th is Giving Tuesday. If you would like to make a contribution to Vantage Aging, whether through service or monetary means, contact Amina Hall at 330-253-4597 or by email at [email protected] for more information. All financial gifts to the non-profit organiza­tion Vantage Aging are tax-de­ductible.

The AES Spotlight Series is paid sponsored content from the Schipper Group.

If interested in joining re­cent tenants such as the Greater Akron Chamber and the Akron Beacon Journal in leasing space in the AES Building, please contact Tom Weise at (330) 434-3010 or [email protected] for more information.