River Valley Estates donates to Helping Hands of Yuma
Helping Hands of Yuma, which has provided free services to help keep seniors in their own homes as long as possible for 21 years, is getting support from a new assisted living home.
River Valley Estates, under construction at Avenue 7E and 30th Street, is donating some of its advertising budget to the agency formerly known as Greater Foothills Helping Hands to help it get through the lean period leading up to its annual Super Yard Sale.
Helping Hands Executive Director said things have been especially tight this year, as local donors send money to relief efforts for the large-scale disasters seen over the summer, including Hurricanes Harvey and Maria and the wildfires in northern California.
“We all know with all the natural disasters that happened, a lot of dollars left the Yuma community to help other people in need. So we definitely saw our donations go down, and because we do rely on the folks and the businesses here locally, we definitely need an influx for us to carry through to our next fundraising opportunity,” she said.
The agency doesn’t receive any federal funding, relying totally on local donors, so it’s also publicizing a “33.33 Campaign,” which refers to the cost of supporting one senior client for one month.
“With donations coming in, whether do it on a monthly basis or prefer to give a one-time annual donation, it equals out to basically $400 a year, But that’s what we need in order to support each one of our seniors and continue to provide the services we have available,” Brown said.
Daniel Garcia, administrator for the new River Valley Estates, became a board member for Helping Hands after hearing about their services from people just moving into another local facility where he worked.
“I would ask them what Helping Hands would do? ‘Well, they would take me to my doctor’s appointment, they would take me to the pharmacy, they would call me to make sure I was OK, they would make friendly visits to my home three times a week.’ And I couldn’t believe that they did all of this completely free,” he said.
The group started out serving the Foothills area, and changed its name this year to reflect its hope to provide services to city of Yuma residents as well, but needs more volunteers to do so, especially those who can provide transportation.
“If you haven’t experienced it with probably a family member, it can be hard to recognize it’s a serious issue if you’re a senior and you don’t have any family or friends or any kind of a support system living here to help you get to your vital appointments or to go shopping or do minor handyman kind of work,” she said.
And donations are always needed, and Brown is hoping to help establish a more reliable revenue stream throughout the year with programs like the $33.33 Campaign.
“We are getting a few donations here and there, this month, but we are definitely on a very tight budget and we can’t spend one extra penny. So we have to be very careful, and as donations come in this month that’s going to help us get to our next goal, which is our next fundraiser,” she said.
That would be the annual Super Yard Sale, being held Dec. 1 and 2 this year at Gila Mountain United Methodist Church, 12716 North Frontage Road. The traditionally massive event is still growing, with 1,250 tables signed up this year, Brown said.