SourcePoint has acquired a new 14-passenger bus to improve and expand services to older adults in Delaware County thanks to grants provided by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) and the Delaware County Foundation. The new, wheelchair-accessible vehicle will be used to convey SourcePoint’s enrichment center members to activities outside its facility and members of the community to programs at SourcePoint.

“This welcomed addition to our enrichment center and community programming will help us to better serve our seniors throughout the county, and we are grateful to the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and the Delaware County Foundation for making this long-planned bus a reality,” said SourcePoint Executive Director Bob Horrocks. “As good stewards of taxpayer money, we want our service funds to stretch as far as possible. One way to accomplish this is to get additional funding through grants and sponsorships, as well as other non-levy sources.”

The total cost of the vehicle was just over $57,000, with the MORPC grant providing 80 percent of the vehicle’s funding, and the Delaware County Foundation giving $16,000 to cover the 20 percent match and initial operating costs.

In addition to providing needed transportation for member programs and to bring senior groups to SourcePoint, the bus will help promote socialization of participants. According to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services research shows that forming small social networks is critical to maintaining an older adult’s cognitive capacity and sense of independence, which in turn improves their emotional well-being and quality of life.

SourcePoint is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides professional expertise, services, and programs for Delaware County adults who want to thrive after 55. Services and programs are supported in part by the local senior services levy, corporate and private donations, sponsorships, grants, and by the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging. SourcePoint is a United Way agency.

SourcePoint’s new passenger bus will help bring groups of Delaware County seniors to participate in programs at its facility, 800 Cheshire Road in Delaware, and take its enrichment center members to activities throughout the state. Pictured, left to right, in front of SourcePoint and the new, wheelchair-accessible bus are Gretchen Roberts, director of nursing at OhioHealth Dublin Methodist Hospital and a member of the SourcePoint Board of Directors; Bob Horrocks, SourcePoint’s executive director; Marlene Casini, president and CEO of the Delaware County Foundation; Stephanie Steinbeck, SourcePoint’s community programs director; and Steve Gorman, SourcePoint’s enrichment center administrator.

http://www.delgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2018/05/web1_Van-1.jpgSourcePoint’s new passenger bus will help bring groups of Delaware County seniors to participate in programs at its facility, 800 Cheshire Road in Delaware, and take its enrichment center members to activities throughout the state. Pictured, left to right, in front of SourcePoint and the new, wheelchair-accessible bus are Gretchen Roberts, director of nursing at OhioHealth Dublin Methodist Hospital and a member of the SourcePoint Board of Directors; Bob Horrocks, SourcePoint’s executive director; Marlene Casini, president and CEO of the Delaware County Foundation; Stephanie Steinbeck, SourcePoint’s community programs director; and Steve Gorman, SourcePoint’s enrichment center administrator.