Photo courtesy of Sheena Collum.
South Orange Village President Sheena Collum reported that she and Maplewood Mayor Victor De Luca signed a “Best Cities for Successful Aging Pledge” on December 9, 2015.
Collum also updated the South Orange and Maplewood community via Facebook that the two towns had applied together for a competitive grant from the Grotta Fund for Senior Care to create a community action plan to retain and attract senior citizens. The Grotta Fund is a New Jersey-based foundation that “focuses its efforts on education and grant making initiatives benefiting older adults in the Greater Metro West area.” (Read more about the Grotta Fund for Senior Care here.)
The Grotta Fund performed a site visit to Maplewood and South Orange on Dec. 9, indicating that the towns are finalists for grants. “This week we’ll find out if we will be the fortunate recipients,” wrote Collum. “A special thanks to all our amazing partners who helped us submit a really compelling application and fingers crossed!!!!”
On his Facebook page, De Luca posted: “Happy to join Sheena Collum, Village President of South Orange, on a joint town project to improve senior services.”
