EMPTY STOCKING FUND: Silver Key is a 'godsend' for senior living by herself
Emma Thayer doesn't think she could live on her own if it weren't for Silver Key Senior Services. The 89-year-old is agile mentally, but after a car accident eight years ago her physical agility is limited.
"Believe me, they're a godsend," Thayer said. "They're my guardian angel. If it wasn't for them, I couldn't stay here by myself."
Thayer has lived in Colorado Springs since 1965. Her husband, who brought her here when he served in the military, died 24 years ago, and she's used Silver Key services for the past dozen years.
Silver Key volunteers and staff help her twice a week with housework, such as laundry and heavy cleaning. They grocery shop for her. And Thayer uses Silver Key's door-to-door transportation service for doctor visits, other shopping and to get out and visit friends.
That fits Silver Key's mission to give people 60 and older in El Paso County the "services they need so they can live the life they want," said resource development director Paul Koch.
The agency is one of 14 area charities receiving grants from The Gazette-El Pomar Empty Stocking Fund.
Silver Key was founded in 1971 and has grown to about 50 paid staff and 400 volunteers, with a 2008 operating budget of more than $3.6 million.
The range of services offered by Silver Key includes the homecare and transportation services that Thayer uses, plus Meals on Wheels, a food pantry, installing accessibility devices such as ramps and grab bars in homes, and handing out durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs for a sliding fee.
Silver Key provides about 57,000 rides and 52,000 meals in a year. Requests for assistance were up 40 percent in October over the year before, Koch said, and he expects that trend to continue in the current economy.
"They just do everything. They're absolutely wonderful," Thayer said. "I cannot say a bad word against them."
CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0226 or bill.reed@gazette.com
TO DONATE
Make a secure donation at www.fillanemptystocking.org. Call 476-1673 to make a credit card or stock donation over the phone. Checks can be made payable to the Empty Stocking Fund and mailed to P.O. Box 400, Colorado Springs, CO 80901.
