Total Community Benefit

Diakon
Currents for
Good
2014
Community Benefit Report
Currents
for
Good
A BUTTERFLY FLAPS ITS WINGS.
If that butterfly, flitting among the eucalyptus
trees of Hawaii, tilts its wings a certain way, the air
currents it sets up can precipitate weather change
somewhere far across the ocean in North America.
But if the butterfly rotates a bit and flaps its wings
in another direction, it can prompt an entirely
different weather event somewhere else far away.
That quite-powerful butterfly is the key illustration
in a scientific theory that proclaims there are
invisible patterns all around us.
It also serves as a terrific metaphor for
community benefit.
Serve a person here and the currents it sets up
have an impact there.
Assist a community organization or group in one
small way and the currents that arise help multiple
people in multiple ways.
That’s the idea of community benefit—that we
have a much greater impact than just upon
those we serve directly.
We invite you to explore Diakon’s impact—
our currents for good.
Overview of our report
R
eporting community benefit is a complex process. Just one example: Providing free meeting-room space
to community groups is reported in one category if related to health care, in another if not related to
health care but in support of overall community-building.
The Catholic Health Association of the United States has defined and categorized standard measures and
ways to report a non-profit organization’s community benefit. While many of its guidelines focus on the reporting required of hospitals, the association also has developed social accountability recommendations for
Continuing Care Retirement Communities and related organizations.
If there is one key recommendation, it is to err on the side of caution in quantifying community impact. In
other words, if you are not certain an activity qualifies as community benefit that you can count in terms of
dollars, don’t count.
At Diakon, we have done just that.
Although, for example, we often provide training sites for health-care professionals in concert with local
educational institutions, we include that positive effect on community health education in programmatic
narratives, rather than attempt to provide a dollar-value for the training.
It is important, therefore, to review both the figures provided and the many narrative reports.
Community impact outside health care
Community benefit reporting is typically associated with hospitals and other forms of non-profit health care.
However, many Diakon programs have a significant impact on the community outside traditional health
care and similar services. The positive effect of these programs needs to be accounted for in any assessment
of the organization’s role in improving community life.
The report thus includes two sections in addition to the senior living-focused section:
• One on benefit provided through Diakon’s many services for children, youths, families, and the general community.
• The second on overarching community impact outside individual programs.
Totals from these three categories constitute the overall Diakon community-benefit figure for 2014.
We are pleased to present our annual community benefit report, Currents for Good. We invite
your comments or questions.
Address them to:
Diakon Office of Corporate Communications
1022 N. Union St.
Middletown, PA 17057
Or email them to info@diakon.org.
4
I
n this report’s section on Ohesson, a Continuing Care Retirement
Community in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, is the statement that
Ohesson arose from the very concept of community benefit—
because the senior living community was developed in concert
with the local county to replace an aging “county home,” serving
those who might not otherwise be served.
In fact, that emphasis on people who, without us, might remain unserved—in many respects, the definition of community benefit—arises
from the same impetus as our mission statement: “In response to God’s
love in Jesus Christ, Diakon will demonstrate God’s command to love
the neighbor through acts of service.”
Much of that concern for the neighbor in 2014 occurred in direct service as Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries and Diakon Child, Family &
Community Ministries helped 68,990 people—a 22.5% increase over
the number served in 2013. Further, Diakon Kathryn’s Kloset touched
the lives of more than 250,000 additional people. The program solicits
and stores corporate donations of cleaning and personal care products, making them available to regional, national, and even international non-profit organizations to distribute to people in need in their communities, free
of charge to the individual recipient.
However, as nationally defined, community benefit refers to the way we make a difference beyond direct service—
and speaks to a special concern for those with lower incomes or other reduced resources.
Community benefit reflects our responsibility for improving the
fabric of society, a response to the trust placed in us through the
granting of tax-exempt status.
Community benefit also means incorporating into our programs
an intentional focus on improving community life, particularly
for those with limited resources, and seeking ways to identify and
meet unmet needs. Programs such as Flight—which provides
guidance and support to young adults at the most critical times in
their lives, times when other support has vanished—demonstrates
our emphasis on community impact.
Meeting such unmet need has been an integral part of our mission since the 1800s—when we developed two
homes for children orphaned by war, disease or other disaster—and remains at the heart of what we do today.
Reporting community impact is just one aspect of social accountability. As we refine services and develop new
ones, our goal always is to find ways to improve life in our communities, having a lasting and significant impact
not only for the neighbors we directly serve, but also for their neighbors.
I invite your questions and comments.
Mark T. Pile, MSHA, MSW
President/CEO
5
Currents for Good: a 2014 with major impact
D
iakon’s 2014 community benefit totaled nearly $19.6 million. That amount compares to 2013 community impact of slightly more than $18.8 million. The Diakon organizations had extensive additional
impact in ways that cannot, based on national guidelines, be included in quantified totals.
Beyond direct service and additional community impact, Diakon spent $17,781,932 on capital projects, improvements, and property maintenance in 2014—work that has major benefit for not only our programs, staff members, and residents, but also the regional economy. Also having a major impact on community economies was
Diakon’s 2014 payroll of $63,775,496. Those two figures cannot be included in quantified community benefit but
nevertheless reflect the significant impact Diakon has—impact that creates many, many currents for good.
Below is a summary of community benefit by program. The following pages provide detail on that impact, including information on additional community benefit not quantified.
Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries (Senior Living Services)
Buffalo Valley Lutheran Village $
Cumberland Crossings $
Diakon Senior Living – Hagerstown
$
Frey Village $
The Lutheran Home at Topton $
Luther Crest
$
Manatawny Manor $
Ohesson$
Twining Village
$
Continuing Benevolent Care Promse $
Veterans Assistance Program
$
Total Community Benefit: $
3,410,541
769,203
1,781,523
1,771,753
2,895,754
547,698
1,352,913
1,157,547
223,845
54,084
1,742,122
15,706,983
Diakon Child, Family & Community Ministries
Adoption, foster care, and related services
$
333,817
Church & Community Services $
143,437
Diakon Community Services $
109,992
Diakon Family Life Services
$
678,352
Diakon Kathryn’s Kloset $
1,772,398
Diakon Youth Scholarships $
74,347
Diakon Youth Services $
696,321
Lutheran Disaster Response $ 60,397
Total Community Benefit: $
3,869,061
Other Diakon Programs
Love of Thy Neighbor Fund (Ministry Support figure
only; other grants in program reports) $
385
Community Benefit Reporting (2013) $ 20,704
Total Community Benefit: $
21,089
TOTAL DIAKON COMMUNITY BENEFIT:
6
$ 19,597,133
Diakon Senior Living Services
In all, the programs grouped within Diakon Senior Living Services
provided quantifiable community impact of $15,706,983.
BUFFALO VALLEY
LUTHERAN VILLAGE
A Diakon Senior Living Community
189 E. Tressler Boulevard
Lewisburg, PA 17837
(570) 524-2221
B
uffalo Valley Lutheran Village is a Continuing
Care Retirement Community located near Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The village offers a range of senior-living cottage homes, a
personal care community, and a skilled nursing and
rehabilitation center. That $16.2 million health care
center was dedicated in the fall of 2013 as the first
of its kind in the region to feature a modified-neighborhood design, which creates a more homelike and
less institutional environment. The concept enhances staff ability to provide patient-centered care,
which allows residents to rise and go to bed, take
meals and so on, based on individual preference.
Buffalo Valley Lutheran Village staff (from left, Robert Musser, executive director, Charlene Fisher, personal care administrator, and
Brenda Grimm, nursing home administrator), enjoy tasting various chili entries submitted by staff and residents during a cook-off
fundraising event. Village staff members and residents have raised
significant funds the last several years to support the local Relay
for Life team, one more way the senior living community benefits
the community.
community-related benefit. In addition, the community served as a training site, including providing
supervision, for RN students from the Pennsylvania
College of Technology.
Beyond efforts to meet the health-care and rehabilitation needs of residents of the central Susquehanna
Valley, Buffalo Valley serves as an active member of
its community by providing free meeting space for
a variety of community groups, including a homecare provider offering education on health carerelated topics and the local Area Agency on Aging.
In addition, the village remains a key partner with
Bucknell University’s Institute for Lifelong Learning, which provides periodic educational programs
for area residents in The Village Common.
Also not reported in figures on Page 8 are funds
raised by Buffalo Valley staff members for such external organizations as the Lewisburg Relay for Life
for the American Cancer Society.
Volunteers
Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer
hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit. However, both internal and external
volunteers play a pivotal role in enhancing life at
Buffalo Valley Lutheran Village.
While not reported in the community impact
figures on Page 8, Diakon provided $2,238 in 2014
tuition assistance to Buffalo Valley staff members
to advance careers within health care, another
In 2014, nearly 20 volunteers contributed some
2,000 hours of service to benefit life at the village.
7
Buffalo Valley Lutheran Village Financial Impact & Community Benefit
Health Professions Education
•
Student Internships in Clinical Settings
$
Subsidized Health Services
•
Personal Care Benevolent Support •
Skilled Nursing Benevolent Support
$
311,692
$ 3,089,106
Cash & In-Kind Contributions
•
In-Kind Donations
$
TOTAL:
8,198
1,545
$ 3,410,541
CUMBERLAND CROSSINGS
A Diakon Lutheran Senior Living Community
1 Longsdorf Way
Carlisle, PA 17015
(717) 245-9941
L
ocated in historic Carlisle, Pennsylvania, home
of Dickinson College and the U.S. Army War
College, Cumberland Crossings is a Continuing
Care Retirement Community offering senior living
cottage-homes, personal care accommodations, and
skilled nursing and rehabilitation services.
Cumberland Crossings, like all Diakon senior living communities,
provides a variety of activities that link senior living residents and
staff members with various external groups and interests. One
2014 event was a pet day and parade with related educational
activities, all helping to raise funds for the village auxiliary.
Beyond meeting the residential and health-care
needs of older adults of the Cumberland Valley and
beyond, Cumberland Crossings is an important
member of its local community, offering free meeting space to such groups as the local Alzheimer’s
Association, churches, the Carlisle Exchange Club,
and an area “newcomers group.” The village also
partners with a number of groups including the Alzheimer’s Association to bring to the campus educational sessions that are available to members of the
general community.
involved in the Wilderness Greenhouse & Native
Plant Nursery worked with Cumberland Crossings
residents to develop and manage a community garden on the Cumberland Crossings campus. As part
of that relationship, Cumberland Crossings—along
with several other Diakon senior living communities, including Ohesson, Diakon Senior Living –
Hagerstown, and Frey Village—hosted dinners and
provided special hooded sweatshirts to youths who
completed a Diakon Wilderness Center program.
The total community impact of that effort was $410.
In addition, Cumberland Crossings has a unique
partnership with the Diakon Wilderness Center,
which provides intergenerational opportunities
and the ability for Cumberland Crossings residents
to have an impact on the lives of at-risk youths.
In this effort, Diakon Wilderness Center students
Cumberland Crossings maintains a pool available to
people from local communities who join its Senior
8
Volunteers
Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer
hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit. However, both internal and external
volunteers play a pivotal role in enhancing life
at Cumberland Crossings. Among groups with
which the senior living community has developed
volunteer partnerships are Dickinson and Messiah
colleges, Shippensburg University, local high-school
groups, and the United Way.
Fitness Connection program. The costs to provide that service externally exceed revenues from
community participants, resulting in community
impact, though that figure is not quantified in this
report.
Also not reported in the community impact figure,
Diakon provided $2,400 in 2014 tuition assistance
to Cumberland Crossings staff members to advance
their careers within health care, another benefit to
the general community. In addition, staff assisted
with supervision of several interns, helping to prepare students for careers in senior-related care.
In 2014, 33 volunteers provided 1,616 hours of
service within Cumberland Crossings.
Cumberland Crossings Financial Impact & Community Benefit
Health Professions Education
•
Student Internships in Clinical Settings
$
Subsidized Health Services
•
Personal Care Benevolent Support
$
•
Skilled Nursing Benevolent Support
$
Cash & In-Kind Contributions
•
In-Kind Donations
$
TOTAL: $
17,977
65,963
684,707
556
769,203
DIAKON SENIOR LIVING –
HAGERSTOWN
The Ravenwood Campus
1183 Luther Drive
Hagerstown, MD 21740
The Robinwood Campus
19800 Tranquility Circle
Hagerstown, MD 21742
(240) 420-4119
D
iakon Senior Living – Hagerstown is a
Continuing Care Retirement Community
composed of two campuses, Ravenwood and
Robinwood, that jointly offer skilled nursing and
Staff from Diakon Senior Living – Hagerstown used the ALS
ice-bucket challenge as a way to educate residents of the senior
living community on the benefits and viral nature of social
media and the Internet.
9
rehabilitative care, two assisted living communities,
memory-support assisted living, and a range of senior living cottage-homes. The Ravenwood campus
also serves as site for a Diakon Adult Day Services
center, whose community impact is reported in a
different section of this report.
Volunteers
Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer
hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit. However, both internal and external
volunteers play a pivotal role in enhancing life on
the two campuses of Diakon Senior Living – Hagerstown and are a vital community asset.
In addition to meeting the health-care and related
needs of older adults from Washington County and
surrounding regions, Diakon Senior Living – Hagerstown serves as a member of its community by providing free meeting space for a variety of community groups, including Washington County Health
Department, CARES, and AARP safe driving classes.
Moreover, Diakon Senior Living – Hagerstown offers a monthly Smart Seniors educational series and
space for SpiriTrust Lutheran Home Care and Hospice to provide educational sessions for residents
of surrounding communities. In addition, Diakon
Senior Living includes some 80 external residents in
its Senior Fitness Club.
In 2014, nearly 50 external and internal volunteers
contributed 4,447 hours of service to benefit life at
Diakon Senior Living – Hagerstown.
While not reported in the community impact figure below, Diakon provided $2,057 in 2014 tuition
assistance to staff of Diakon Senior Living – Hagerstown to advance careers within health care, another community-related benefit.
Also not reported in figures below are funds raised
by staff members for organizations such as the
Alzheimer’s Association, Cumberland Valley Breast
Cancer Society, and Operation Christmas Child.
Diakon Senior Living – Hagerstown Financial Impact & Community Benefit
Community Health Services
•
Health Care Support Services
$
Subsidized Health Services
•
Assisted Living Benevolent Support
•
Skilled Nursing Benevolent Support $
448,768
$ 1,111,714
Cash & In-Kind Contributions
•
In-Kind Donations
TOTAL:
$
1,449
$ 1,781,523
10
2,524
FREY VILLAGE
A Diakon Lutheran Senior Living Community
1020 North Union Street
Middletown, PA 17057
(717) 930-1200
F
rey Village is a Continuing Care Retirement
Community in Middletown, Pennsylvania, close
to the state capital of Harrisburg. The village offers senior living accommodations in an apartment
tower, along with personal care services and skilled
nursing and rehabilitative care. In addition, the
village maintains the Phoenix Unit, a secure care
center for those with Alzheimer’s disease and
related memory illnesses. In response to local need,
the village has been focused on enhancing its
short-term rehabilitation, wellness, and memorysupportive programs.
Each year, Frey Village holds a Strawberry Festival and a community Easter egg hunt, both of which help to create valuable
relationships with the community.
The village also works to support various community organizations. While not reported in the figures
below, the village provides materials for recycling
to the Ronald McDonald House and in 2014 staff
members and residents collected hats and mittens
for a local organization, managed a food drive for
the regional food bank, raised funds for the fight
against cancer, participated in local communitydevelopment events, and hosted an Easter egg hunt
for area children.
Beyond directly meeting the region’s health-care
and rehabilitation needs, Frey Village provides free
educational and clinical space to Harrisburg Area
Community College for training of certified nursing
assistants. In addition, the village provides accommodations for a monthly support group for people
dealing with a loved one’s Alzheimer’s disease or
similar memory-related illness.
Volunteers
Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer
hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit. However, both internal and external
volunteers play a pivotal role in enhancing life at
Frey Village. Volunteers develop and staff a number
of important programs for the village including an
annual Strawberry Festival.
While not reported in the community impact
figure below, Diakon provided $4,833 in 2014
tuition assistance to staff of Frey Village to advance
careers within health care, another communityrelated benefit.
In 2014, 65 volunteers logged 1,348 hours of service to Frey Village.
Frey Village Financial Impact & Community Benefit
Subsidized Health Services
•
Personal Care Benevolent Support
$
•
Skilled Nursing Benevolent Support $ 1,486,483
285,219
Cash & In-Kind Contributions
•
In-Kind Donations
TOTAL:
11
$
51
$ 1,771,753
THE LUTHERAN HOME
AT TOPTON
A Diakon Senior Living Community
One South Home Avenue
Topton, Pennsylvania 19562
(610) 682-1400
P
erched on a hilltop overlooking the rolling
countryside of Berks County, Pennsylvania, The
Lutheran Home at Topton campus houses not only
a Continuing Care Retirement Community but also
offices for Diakon Adoption & Foster Care. The
senior living community consists of independent
living accommodations, personal care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation services, and multiple levels
of memory-support care in both personal care and
skilled nursing. The Lutheran Home at Topton is
the site of the former Topton Orphans Home and is
known for its iconic Old Main building.
One aspect of The Lutheran Home at Topton’s community benefit arises from its provision of space at greatly reduced cost to
the Brandywine Community Library, housed in Old Main on the
Topton campus. Here, a preschool child and his mother engage in
online learning activities after hearing a story and completing a
craft at the community library.
cat litter also were made in 2014 to the regional
SPCA. Further, the senior living campus provides
free transportation, as well as access to activities, to
residents of the nearby, separately incorporated Luther Meadows and Heilman House rental-assistance
housing complexes. In addition, the campus hosts
support-group sessions on Alzheimer’s disease and
similar memory-related illnesses and provides space
for public health-related information sessions.
Beyond offering free meeting space for various community organizations, including the local ambulance association and Diakon Adoption & Foster
Care’s resource-parent training programs, The Lutheran Home at Topton subsidizes the cost for housing the Brandywine Community Library within the
campus’ Old Main building. Old Main also houses
artifacts related to the site’s history as an orphanage. Further, The Lutheran Home at Topton hosts
Grace Lutheran Congregation; because the congregation includes some members of the senior living
community, the costs to provide space for it are not
included in quantified community impact.
Finally, while not reported in the community impact
total on Page 13, Diakon provided $5,025 in 2014
tuition assistance to staff members of The Lutheran
Home at Topton to advance their careers within
health care, another benefit to the general community.
Volunteers
Topton staff members take part in numerous activities to raise funds for such organizations and programs as the Alzheimer’s Association, the American
Heart Association, Diakon Adoption & Foster Care,
Girls on the Run, Friends, Inc., the Topton Food
Bank, and the senior living community’s benevolent care fund. Donations of food, blankets, and
Both internal and external volunteers play a pivotal
role in enhancing life within The Lutheran Home at
Topton and are a vital community asset. In addition,
Topton staff members volunteer for a wide range of
community organizations.
In 2014, 140 people contributed 5,885 hours of
service to residents of The Lutheran Home at
Topton. Based on national reporting guidelines, the
dollar-value of that service is not included in the
following figures.
12
The Lutheran Home at Topton Financial Impact & Community Benefit
Community Health Services
•
Support Groups
•
Health Care Support Services
$
$
Subsidized Health Services
•
Personal Care Benevolent Support
•
Skilled Nursing Benevolent Support $
477,194
$ 2,385,539
Cash & In-Kind Contributions
•
In-Kind Donations
TOTAL:
$
25,036
$ 2,895,754
38
7,947
LUTHER CREST
A Diakon Lutheran Senior Living Community
800 Hausman Road
Allentown, Pennsylvania 18104
(610) 398-8011
L
ocated in a suburban area of Allentown, Pennsylvania, Luther Crest is a Continuing Care
Retirement Community including several styles of
senior living accommodations, personal care, skilled
nursing and rehabilitation services, and memorysupportive care. Luther Crest has undergone
significant expansion and upgrades over the last
half-decade including renovation of skilled care and
personal care communities and the development of
a memory-support unit.
Taking in the new secure memory-support garden at Luther Crest
are, front left to right, Lois Eisenhard, a major Luther Crest
donor; the Rev. Dianne Kareha, chaplain; back left to right, James
Mackin of Diakon’s Development office; the Rev. Mark Wimmer,
Diakon vice president for church relations and ministry partnerships; and Mark Pile, Diakon president/CEO. The garden was
part of a major expansion project at the Allentown, Pennsylvania,
senior living community that established a needed service in the
region: memory-support personal care.
Beyond meeting the residential and health-care
needs of older adults in the Lehigh Valley and
beyond, Luther Crest is a valuable member of its
community in consistently providing free space for
meetings by numerous external groups including
the local Rotary Club, a youth-mentoring group, a
local art guild, and an ombudsmen group. Luther
Crest partners with Good Shepherd Rehabilitation
Hospital and Lehigh Valley Health Network to advance staff members’ health-related education.
staff-overseen support group for family members
and others caring for older adults with memoryrelated illnesses. The senior living community also
serves as an educational site for college students to
gain experience in specific health-care professions,
as well as chaplaincy internships.
While not reported in the community impact figure,
Diakon provided $1,418 in 2014 tuition assistance
to staff members of Luther Crest to advance their
careers within health care, another benefit to the
general community.
In addition, Luther Crest, in occasional partnership
with the local Alzheimer’s Association, provides a
13
Also not reported in figures below are contributions given by staff members, residents, and families for various fund-raising projects that Luther
Crest initiated or participated in; any staff time
spent in coordinating these activities is not included in quantifiable community impact. Among
groups benefiting from these benevolent efforts
were the Lehigh County Conference of Churches,
the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the
Lehigh Presbytery, Jewish-Christian Understanding Organization, CROP Walk, foster children,
Sixth Street Shelter, and the Allentown Ecumenical Food Bank.
volunteer with external groups including area
congregations, after-school programs, local hospitals,
musical groups, an environmental organization, a
learning center for children with special needs, and
a soup kitchen.
Volunteers
In 2014, more than 110 volunteers contributed 8,010
hours of service within Luther Crest.
Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer
hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit. However, both internal and external volunteers play a pivotal role in enhancing life
at Luther Crest and are a vital community asset.
In addition, Luther Crest residents consistently
Further, Diakon provided $250 in Love of Thy
Neighbor funding to a Luther Crest staff member
volunteering with an external non-profit organization,
one more way to increase community impact.
Moreover, in 2014, Luther Crest residents conducted
a capital campaign drive that raised more than
$1 million to support the creation of a memorysupportive personal care community at Luther
Crest; while that figure is not quantified in Luther
Crest’s community-benefit data the program it
helped to create represents a significant impact on
community health.
Luther Crest Financial Impact & Community Benefit
Community Health Services
•
Support Groups
Health Professions Education
•
Student Internships in Clinical Settings
Subsidized Health Services
•
Personal Care Benevolent Support
•
Skilled Nursing Benevolent Support Cash & In-Kind Contributions
•
In-Kind Donations
TOTAL:
14
$
282
$
8,264
$
$
60,101
478,045
$
1,006
$ 547,698
MANATAWNY MANOR
A Diakon Lutheran Senior Living Community
30 Old Schuylkill Road
Pottstown, PA 19465
(610) 705-3700
M
anatawny Manor, located near Pottstown,
Pennsylvania, is a Continuing Care Retirement Community offering personal care accommodations, entrance-fee personal care, and nursing and rehabilitative care along with specialized
programming, in both nursing and personal care,
for residents with Alzheimer’s disease and similar
memory-related illnesses. The site also houses a
Diakon Adult Day Services center, whose community impact is reported in a different section of this
report.
Manatawny Manor has been a key provider of senior
living health-care services in the Montgomery and
Chester counties region for nearly 40 years.
Fresh flower arrangements—donated by various staff members, who grow them in their gardens—are used in centerpieces
throughout the resident dining rooms and nursing stations at
Manatawny Manor, one small additional way staff has an
impact on residents’ lives.
Beyond meeting the region’s health-care and shortterm rehabilitation needs, Manatawny Manor also
has historically provided support groups for
families with a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease
or similar memory-related illness; that program
was reinvigorated to be operated internally in 2015.
While not reported in the community impact
figures below, Diakon provided $1,200 in 2014
tuition assistance to staff of Manatawny Manor to
advance careers within health care, another
community-related benefit.
Volunteers
Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer
hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit. However, volunteers play a pivotal
role in enhancing life at Manatawny Manor.
In 2014, 21 volunteers contributed 450 hours of
service to Manatawny Manor.
Manatawny Manor Financial Impact & Community Benefit
Subsidized Health Services
•
Personal Care Benevolent Support
•
Skilled Nursing Benevolent Support $ 159,492
$ 1,193,421
$ 1,352,913
TOTAL:
15
OHESSON
A Diakon Lutheran Senior Living Community
276 Green Avenue
Lewistown, PA 17044
(717) 242-1416
L
ocated south of State College, in Lewistown,
Pennsylvania, Ohesson is a Continuing Care
Retirement Community that offers nursing and
rehabilitative care, along with senior living accommodations in cottage-homes. Ohesson originated
in response to the very concept of community impact—it was developed in cooperation with Mifflin
County to replace an aging “county home” and to
make certain that skilled nursing care would be
available to county residents with limited
financial resources.
For many years, Ohesson has sponsored a public Art Along the
Juniata event, which allows local artists to showcase their work.
These types of events are additional ways Diakon senior living
communities create significant ties with their communities.
In addition, Ohesson created one of the area’s
first secure memory-support skilled-care units in
response to local need. More recently, again in
response to community need, Ohesson developed
a short-term neighborhood offering inpatient
rehabilitation services for 23 guests.
Volunteers
Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer
hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit. However, both internal and external
volunteers play a pivotal role in enhancing life at
Ohesson. In addition, volunteer activities by Ohesson residents benefited the Mifflin County Library
System, Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, Rescue Our
Furry Friends, and the Mifflin/Juniata Counties
Relay for Life.
Beyond meeting these health-care needs, Ohesson
serves as a clinical training site in various levels of
nursing care in partnership with the Mifflin-Juniata
Career and Technology Center and the GeisingerLewistown Hospital School of Nursing. While not
reported in the community impact figures below,
Diakon provided $500 in 2014 tuition assistance to
staff of Ohesson to advance their careers, another
community-related benefit.
In 2014, more than 60 volunteers contributed 2,474
hours of service to Ohesson residents.
Ohesson Financial Impact & Community Benefit
Health Professions Education
•
Student Internships in Clinical Settings
$
Subsidized Health Services
•
Skilled Nursing Benevolent Support $ 1,156,424
TOTAL:
16
1,123
$ 1,157,547
TWINING VILLAGE
A Diakon Lutheran Senior Living Community
280 Middle Holland Road
Holland, PA 18966
(215) 322-6100
T
wining Village is located in historic Bucks
County, Pennsylvania, not far from Philadelphia
and its attractions. The Continuing Care Retirement
Community, which has undergone extensive expansion and renovation that last few years, offers senior
living accommodations, personal care services, and
nursing and rehabilitative care.
In 2015, Twining Village broke ground for Twining Brook Gardens; residents, staff, and the community are participating in the
campaign to fund the garden. Twining Brook Garden will contain
several paved patio areas convenient for those who use wheelchairs and others to sit and enjoy nature. The space will enhance
quality of life for residents and the friends and family members
who visit them.
Beyond meeting the residential and health-care
needs of older adults from Bucks County and the
surrounding region, Twining Village serves as a
vital member of its community, providing free or
discounted meeting space to a number of area organizations including the Bucks County Women’s
Choral Group, student recitals, a local church, and
a young actors guild.
Also not reported in figures below are resident and
staff fundraising projects to benefit the community;
one such effort annually results in an approximate
$2,500 contribution to help support external services for those with Alzheimer’s disease and their
families.
In addition, the village works with the local Alzheimer’s Association to provide educational programming and support to family members and
others in the general community caring for older
adults with memory-related illnesses.
Volunteers
Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer
hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit. Volunteers, however, play a vital role in
enhancing life at Twining Village.
While not reported in the community impact
figure, Diakon provided $5,970 in 2014 tuition
assistance to Twining Village staff to advance
careers within health care, another benefit to
the general community.
In 2014, approximately 110 volunteers provided
4,290 hours of service within Twining Village.
Twining Village Financial Impact & Community Benefit
Community Health Services
•
Support Groups
$
26
Subsidized Health Services
•
Personal Care Benevolent Support
$
223,570
Cash & In-Kind Contributions
•
In-Kind Donations
TOTAL:
$
$
249
223,845
17
Continuing Benevolent
Care Promise
Total Community Benefit – $54,084
I
n 2005, Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries sold
nine free-standing health-care and personal care/
assisted living communities to another health-care
provider. Diakon took this step because of the huge
capital investments that would have been required
to maintain nearly two-dozen senior living communities as leaders in their individual markets.
Diakon’s Veterans Assistance Program has a significant community impact as it helps veterans to access various VA benefits for
which they qualify but may not know how to obtain.
Veterans Assistance Program
Total Community Benefit –
$1,742,122
As part of that sale—and in alignment with Diakon’s
benevolent care promise never to discharge residents if, through no fault of their own, they can no
longer afford their care or service—Diakon pledged
to subsidize personal care services for then-current
residents who needed that support.
D
iakon maintains a Veterans Assistance
Program to help people served by Diakon
programs and senior living communities to access
the benefits they deserve for their own or a spouse’s
military service. Through education and consultation, the program also assists many people beyond
those served directly by Diakon.
In 2014, Diakon provided $54,084 in support of its
Benevolent Care Promise for residents of several of
the sold facilities.
In 2014, the Veterans Assistance Program secured
benefits for individuals totaling $1,849,593.
Subtracting the amount Diakon received in VA
benefits from this work—which reduces the need
for other subsidies—but adding back, proportionate to the number of external individuals served,
Diakon’s costs in providing the service yields a
community impact of $1,656,883.
As noted, Diakon’s Veterans Assistance staff
provides numerous external educational sessions
to assist veterans and their spouses in understanding Veterans Administration benefits and how to
access them. In one instance in 2014 that
educational component, which assisted other
organizations in serving veterans, had additional
community benefit of $85,239 related to assistance
for veterans.
18
Diakon Child, Family & Community Programs
In all, the programs grouped within Diakon Child, Family & Community
Ministries provided quantifiable community impact of $3,869,061.
T
he national reporting guidelines for community
impact focus on hospitals and medical centers,
with a supplemental set of standards for long-term
care/Continuing Care Retirement Communities such
as those operated by Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries.
IN ADDITION to the direct subsidy provided by
Diakon to support these services for children,
families, and communities, many of the programs
had further quantifiable community impact, as
noted on the following pages.
However, Diakon has an additional and significant
impact on multiple regions of Pennsylvania and
Maryland through its wide range of services for children, youths, families, and the community. In 2014,
those programs transitioned into a new organization,
Diakon Child, Family & Community Ministries.
Beyond the $13,888,592 in subsidized health care
included in the senior living services section of this
report, Diakon provided $2,342,343 in 2014 subsidy
to support its community-based programs for
children, youths, and adults of all ages, including
adoption and foster care, counseling services, and a
range of programs for at-risk youths.
19
While not reported in community impact figures,
Diakon provided $4,300 in 2014 tuition assistance
to staff members from Diakon Adoption &
Foster Care and Diakon Youth Services to advance
careers within these service fields, another benefit
to society.
Diakon Adoption & Foster Care
Total Community Benefit – $333,817
D
iakon Adoption & Foster Care provides
numerous services designed to match waiting
children and youths with prospective adoptive and
foster families. While public adoptions in Pennsylvania are funded by the Statewide Adoption &
Permanency Network (which, separately, Diakon
administers for the Commonwealth), Diakon subsidizes its adoption, foster care, and pregnancy programs to assure extensive recruitment and supportive services for prospective and continuing adoptive
and foster families. In 2014, that subsidy amounted
to $333,317.
Older adults served by a Diakon Community Services senior
community center in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Skype with
children from an elementary school in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, a
way of tying generations together.
Community-Based
Senior Services
In addition, program leadership oversees and promotes a wide range of additional external activities
to create awareness of the number of children waiting for loving foster and adoptive families. Conservatively, these activities generated additional community impact of more than $500.
Total Community Benefit – $109,992
I
n Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Diakon
Community Services operates numerous programs under contract with the Schuylkill County
Office of Senior Services with funding from the state
Department of Aging—senior community centers,
meals on wheels, PrimeTime Health, and APPRISE.
In addition, regional programs include Diakon Living & Learning After 50—which provides “seniorcenter-without-walls-style” educational, cultural,
and activities-related events—and Diakon Volunteer
Home Care. To make certain these programs reach
as many individuals as possible—including people
with low and moderate incomes—Diakon provided
a 2014 subsidy of $74,619.
Diakon Adoption & Foster Care’s York staff recently donated time
to prepare a meal for residents of the Ronald McDonald House in
Hershey, Pennsylvania, who said they were humbled by the Diakon staff’s kindness—but adoption staff said it was they who were
humbled by the family strength they witnessed.
In addition, Diakon Community Services provided
in-kind support (free meeting space within senior
centers) for several community groups, resulting
in further community impact of $72. While Diakon authorized use of the space, this figure is not
included in Diakon’s overall community impact
because lease costs are paid by Schuylkill County.
Church & Community Services
Total Community Benefit – $143,437
A
t one time part of Diakon Family Life Services
– Northeastern Pennsylvania, these congregationally focused services transitioned in 2014 to the
Office of Church Relations & Ministry Partnerships.
Among the services, for which Diakon provided a
2014 subsidy of $143,437, were congregationally
based pastoral care team ministries and consultations.
However, Diakon Community Services underwrote
participation in a community health expo for two
other community groups, totaling quantifiable community impact of $238.
20
Staff with Diakon Adult Day Services centers at
Ravenwood, Hagerstown, Md., and at Manatawny,
Pottstown, Pa.—which received a 2014 Diakon
subsidy of $30,302 at the Pottstown site—provided several external community health-related
educational sessions. Those events resulted in
community impact of $456.
In addition, adult day services staff members supervised clinical interns from several health-care
organizations, resulting in additional community
benefit of $4,305.
Volunteers
Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer
hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit. However, volunteers play a key
role in the provision of community-based senior
services.
Diakon Kathryn’s Kloset participates in numerous events in support of the underserved in various communities. Here, Easter
baskets are lined up in the Diakon Kathryn’s Kloset warehouse
awaiting distribution at a community event.
In 2014, nearly 600 volunteers contributed
18,981 hours of service through Diakon Community Services, Diakon Volunteer Home Care, and
Diakon Adult Day Services.
Diakon Kathryn’s Kloset
Total Community Benefit – $1,772,398
B
Diakon Family Life Services
ased just outside Baltimore, Diakon Kathryn’s
Kloset partners with a wide range of corporations to receive and store donations of cleaning,
personal care and other products. The warehouse
program then makes those products available, for a
small handling fee, to non-profits locally, regionally,
nationally and even internationally, to distribute to
people in need in their communities, free of charge
to the end-recipient.
Total Community Benefit – $678,352
T
o provide extensive counseling services to
people facing challenges and crises, particularly
children, families and adult individuals with limited incomes, Diakon subsidized its Diakon Family
Life Services counseling centers in the amount of
$678,352.
In 2014, the program served some 250,000 people
through distribution of more than 390,000 products
to 186 partner organizations. The value of those
products was $1.7 million; subtracting the handling fee of $182,226 yields a community impact
of $1,517,774, in addition to the $254,624 Diakon
subsidy to operate the program.
Approximately 70% of the people served by this
program were at or below the poverty level and
would not have received care if not for Diakon
Family Life Services.
21
Girls on the Run®
G
irls on the Run is a transformational physical
activity-based youth development program for
girls in third through eighth grades. The program
teaches life skills through interactive lessons and
running games, culminating with the girls being
physically and emotionally prepared to complete a
celebratory 5k running event. The goal of the program is to unleash confidence through accomplishment while establishing a lifetime appreciation for
health and fitness.
Subsidy for operation of Girls on the Run is included in the amounts noted previously for Diakon
Family Life Services (Girls on the Run of Lycoming County) and Diakon Adoption & Foster Care
(Girls on the Run of Lehigh County); the Lycoming
County program ended in mid-2014 as a result of
decreasing funding and community involvement.
Participants in Girls on the Run perform a number of community
service projects.
none of which is included in quantified community
benefit figures.
As examples, Sarah Yerk, a head coach at Fountain
Hill in the Bethlehem School District, noted that her
group “cleaned up the grounds of the schools, such
as trash and leaves, and readied it for a community
day during which volunteers painted the schools,”
while Alison Johnson, head coach at Seven Generations Charter School, Emmaus, said her group “had
a baked-sale fundraiser, donating half the proceeds
to an autism support program and the other half to
a local women’s shelter. We also collected items to
donate to the shelter.”
The subsidy, along with donations and extensive
community grants, primarily in Lehigh County,
allowed the program to offer greatly reduced fees to
numerous participants, many of whom come from
families with modest incomes
In addition, more than 200 people volunteered
nearly 4,000 hours of service to support the program, including more than 100 volunteer coaches.
Moreover, local GOTR sites completed approximately 30 community impact projects as part of the
educational and healthy living focus of the program,
Diakon Youth Services
Total Community Benefit – $696,321
D
iakon Youth Services provides a range of
programs for at-risk youths and young adults,
primarily through the Diakon Wilderness Center
near Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, and offices in
Lancaster and Media, Pennsylvania. Serving young
people referred by county juvenile probation departments and children and youth services, as well
as county programs responsible for young adults
ages 18 to 25, Diakon Youth Services offers such
programs as day treatment, weekday support and
intervention (such as the Center Point Day Treatment Program, which received the 2014 Commu-
The Diakon Wilderness Greenhouse is transitioning in 2015 to
include a native-plant nursery.
22
nity-Based Program of the Year award from the
Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Judges Commission),
the voluntary Flight program, and the weekend
alternative program, along with extensive vocational
training efforts including the Diakon Wilderness
Greenhouse, redesigned in 2015 to include a nativeplant nursery.
Volunteers
Based on national reporting guidelines, volunteer
hours are not counted as part of quantified community benefit.
In 2014, some 120 volunteers from a wide range
of community organizations, businesses and colleges contributed more than 1,200 hours of service
in support of the Diakon Wilderness Center and its
various programs.
While most of these services are designed to be
funded by county-based referrals, tight reimbursement levels as well as the costs of maintaining
the unique Diakon Wilderness Center require
significant subsidy. In 2014, that Diakon funding
amounted to $692,948.
In addition, youths involved in Diakon Youth Services programs take part in extensive communityservice activities as part of their mentoring and
educational process. In 2014, those youths provided
more than 6,000 hours of service in direct support
of such community organizations as the YMCA, Humane League of Lancaster, several urban churches,
the Greenbelt Trail Harrisburg, the Adopt-a-Highway program, the Darby Borough “clean-up-thestreets” program, Aston Community Center, W.H.
McIntyre Never Forget Foundation, Ride Ataxia,
Family House in Pittsburgh, the Appalachian Trail
Society, and Freedom Global Outreach in Haiti.
Included in that funding, along with proceeds from
donations, grants, and Dining with Diakon for
Youth Services, held in the Harrisburg region each
year, is support for Flight, whose impact is perhaps
incalculable when its effect on young lives is considered. That’s because Flight often serves as a “lastchance” program for young adults who have aged
out of traditional county-funded services but still
need guidance and support to remain successful at
home, in school, and at work. Participants have described Flight as their “family,” the group to whom
they turn for support, mentoring and guidance.
Evidence of the program’s impact is the number of
Flight participants employed or attending college
full-time, typically 100%.
Further, two Diakon Youth Services staff members
received Diakon Love of Thy Neighbor funding to
assist other non-profit organizations (see the story
on Page 25). The amount of that community impact
was $1,683.
The Diakon Youth Services subsidy also helps to
cover provision, along with modest cost to participant groups, of wilderness challenge-based
team-building programs for a range of community
organizations including Carlisle High School and
its alternative education and Herd 100 programs,
Carlisle YMCA, Wilson and Dickinson colleges, and
additional school programs. In all, 1,089 community residents and students benefited from this externally focused program, expanded in 2015 to include
team-development efforts for business groups.
In addition, the Diakon Wilderness Greenhouse
provided opportunity in 2014 for an internship for
a college student. The value of that community
impact was $1,690.
The Diakon Wilderness Center is expanding its team-building
program to serve businesses and other organizations.
23
Diakon Youth Scholarships
Total Community Benefit – $74,347
D
iakon offers academic scholarships to current
and former participants of any Diakon Child,
Family & Community Ministries program including
youth services, adoption and foster care, and family life counseling services. These funds are identified as provided through either the Charles Merritt
Singer or Emma Myers Duttera memorial scholarships, combined in 2009 into the overarching youth
services fund.
The goal of the scholarship program—the founding
dollars for which were intended to assist orphanage students gain educational advantages—is to
help young people become productive, contributing
members of society. Scholarships assist with highereducation or trade-school tuition, books, or related
needs.
Kaitlyn Fredo, right, with her mother is one of a number of youths
served by various Diakon programs who have received Diakon
Youth Scholarships to assist with their education. In place for a
number of years, the program has had a significant impact on the
lives of young adults.
In 2014, Diakon awarded 31 scholarships totaling
$74,347 in community impact.
Disaster Response
Total Community Benefit – $60,397
D
iakon serves as a partner with the national
Lutheran Disaster Response organization and
is the primary Lutheran church-affiliated organization for disaster response in the Delaware-Maryland,
Lower Susquehanna, and Upper Susquehanna synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Diakon also responds as needed within the Northeastern Pennsylvania, Southeastern Pennsylvania,
and Allegheny synods, as determined by the
Lutheran social ministry organizations assigned
primary responsibility for those regions.
In addition to national and church grants provided during disaster response, Diakon underwrote
$60,397 in 2014 subsidy to support this effort—
which had significant community impact as
Diakon continued extensive work, along with national and regional church and other partners, to
finalize rebuilding and renovation efforts in
Crisfield, Maryland, devastated by Hurricane
Sandy in October 2012.
The Rev. Phillip Huber stands in front of one of the new homes
constructed in Crisfield, Maryland. In 2014, Huber, Diakon’s
disaster preparedness and response coordinator in the MarylandDelaware region, received the Maryland Governor’s Citation,
an award given in appreciation of the important difference an
individual’s efforts have made on the lives of people in need. Huber
was honored for his leadership on behalf of the Somerset County
Long-Term Recovery Committee working in Crisfield.
24
Mission trip gives deeper
meaning to work
A
fter returning from a nine-day mission trip to
Timisoara, Romania, in 2014, Kit Fensterbush
found a deeper purpose in her job.
“It is easy to get bogged down in the details and
forget the mission,” says the office manager for the
Diakon Wilderness Center. “Going on a mission
trip helps to put a deeper meaning behind what you
do day in and day out. You get new ideas. You are
refreshed. It is re-orienting.”
Kit Fensterbush in Romania, a trip supported in terms of
providing additional days off through the Diakon Love of
Thy Neighbor Fund.
Her trip was supported by Diakon’s Love of Thy
Neighbor Fund, which pays for limited additional
time off when a staff member is using vacation time
to support another nonprofit organization.
A former youth pastor, Fensterbush is no stranger
to mission work, having organized and led several
mission trips with her husband. Together, they
decided on the trip to Romania after learning of the
impact the church’s pastor and his wife were having on the lives of families in the local community.
Despite the steep cost to travel to the country, they
made the decision to go and began planning about a
year and a half in advance.
Fensterbush traveled to Romania with her husband,
senior pastor of Zion United Methodist Church in
York, Pennsylvania, and seven other volunteers to
help a Baptist congregation expand its worship facility and children’s wing; they also assisted a women’s
shelter as it prepared for inspection.
“We each had to pay about $3,000 just to get there.
We also raised about $15,000 that we brought with
us so that we could buy building materials there and
support the local economy,” she says, adding that
some of the money went to hiring the unemployed.
“We hired four workers, providing their families
with income.”
“It was a big learning experience for us, having to
understand that you can’t change a culture,” she
says, explaining that in the male-dominated society,
men were very hesitant to allow the women to do
construction-type work. “Our purpose was just to
be present, supportive, and helpful in getting them
to where they wanted to be when we left.”
By the end of their stay, Fensterbush realized that
the value of their mission went far beyond the
physical labor and materials they provided.
“On every mission trip I have taken, I am the one
who has been blessed. I am the one who has grown
from the relationship with the people I have gone to
serve,” she says.
“It gives you perspective and an appreciation for
where you are when you see the joy that people
have in the midst of their struggles. It keeps me
grounded on what is really important in life. And
that is people—no matter where they are, what language they speak, what condition they are in, they
all deserve respect, dignity, care and love.”
25
Additional Community Impact
Diakon had additional impact on the community through several other
efforts and programs, resulting in a quantified benefit of $21,089.
The Love of Thy Neighbor Fund
Rental-Assistance Housing
Total Community Benefit – $385
D
iakon manages four rental-assistance housing
complexes in Topton and Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Frostburg, Maryland. While not included
in community impact calculations, residents and
staff members of these housing programs maintained relationships with a variety of community
groups and were involved in numerous events to
benefit local communities.
F
our staff members from Diakon Child, Family
& Community Ministries programs, a Diakon
Senior Living Community, and a Diakon Ministry
Support office received Diakon funding to enable
them to serve briefly with other non-profit organizations, often international ones, aiding people in
need.
Among such efforts were volunteer activities, with
more than 100 residents and staff of the communities contributing some 6,600 hours of service in
support of the housing programs and community
groups. Efforts included bake sales to support youth
programs, delivery of meals on wheels, collections
of items for children from lower-income families,
donations of food and bedding for animal shelters,
Red Cross blood drives, and the creation of quilts,
afghans, and lap-robes for Lutheran World Relief
and a regional hospice program.
Three of these grants are included within the community impact figures for a senior living community
and a child and family program; the fourth grant
was provided to a staff member from Diakon Ministry Support, who received funding to assist his
efforts to serve Haitian orphans.The amount of that
community impact was $385.
While not reported in the community impact figure,
Diakon provided $7,960 in 2014 tuition assistance
to staff members of Diakon Ministry Support to help
them achieve or refine skills to advance the organization’s mission, another community benefit.
Community Impact Reporting
Total Community Benefit – $20,704
N
ational community benefit guidelines allow
organizations to report the costs of their community impact programs and reports. In 2014, Diakon spent approximately $20,704 to produce and
distribute its community benefit report inclusive of
staff time, printing, distribution, and website-related
costs.
26
Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries
DIAKON Child, Family & Community Ministries
Administrative & Ministry Support Office
798 Hausman Road, Suite 300
Allentown, PA 18104-9108
Financial Services & Ministry Support Office
1022 North Union Street
Middletown, PA 17057
1-877-DIAKON-7 • (1-877-342-5667)
Email: info@diakon.org
www.Diakon.org
Diakon’s Mission:
In response to God’s love in Jesus Christ, Diakon will demonstrate
God’s command to love the neighbor through acts of service.
Diakon is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization.
All contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Diakon does not discriminate in admissions, the provision of services, or referrals of clients on the
basis of race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status,
veteran status, disability or any other classes protected by law.
For additional copies of this report, please contact:
Office of Corporate Communications & Public Relations
DIAKON
1022 North Union Street
Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057
Currents for Good
Office of Corporate Communications
& Public Relations
DIAKON
1022 North Union Street
Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057
www.diakon.org