Jane Ogilvie's
~~~~~~ Senior Solutions ~~~~~~
Senior Solutions of Pinellas County
10th years of Business
10 years of Volunteering
September 2008
This month marks the 10th Anniversary of starting my senior care issue related consultation business. The results have been fantastic having now fielded hundreds of phone calls and online inquiries from a lot of Baby Boomers who are trying to negotiate their new role in life as responsible parties to their aging parents. Though small in size compared to other businesses, we deal confidently with problems and issues of staggering proportion.
In addition to running the business, Senior Solutions has been a committed volunteer. Believing it’s important to make a place better than it was when you found it, owner Jane Ogilvie has spent countless hours on improving the situation for Seniors and the disabled in the community of Gulfport, Florida.
Eight of the past 10 years were spent on the Board of Directors for the Gulfport Chamber of Commerce. Jane applied to and was appointed by the City to its Senior Citizens Advisory Committee. That Committee was the impetus for bringing the Fl. Dept. of Elder Affairs Communities for a Lifetime (CFAL) program to Gulfport. She along with two other women helped the City to understand the importance of this program, and ultimately it was adopted by the City Council.
Out of the Senior Citizens Advisory Committee also came an idea to create The Gulfport Multipurpose Senior Center Foundation, Inc. As a volunteer and working with the same two women who were employed by the City at the Senior Center, Jane understood the importance a Foundation could have in bringing enhanced services and programs to seniors in and outside of Gulfport.
This November the Foundation will celebrate its 5th Anniversary, although months were spent prior to the Foundation being designated by the state as a 501 c3 charitable non-profit organization. Jane helped transform a dream into a reality. Starting with nothing but determination and a willingness to try, she struggled through the fundamentals of building a Foundation. Early on in the process she accepted the responsibility of being the Foundation’s first President.
Now five years later, the Foundation begins to see the results of those hours of commitment. The Senior Center has been the recipient of gifts small and large. Nutritional needs were identified and the Foundation financially helped to support the creation of a new Snack Bar area.
The Foundation has committed itself to supporting in whatever ways necessary the Center’s desire to become a Nationally Accredited Senior Center. They’ve responded to a Center participant survey earlier this year in their cries for an exercise room. Four brand new pieces of professional exercise equipment will be delivered by the end of this month. A Foundation web site will be launched within a month, and the 3rd annual fundraising event will be held in February 2009.
Jane has been fully committed to helping seniors meet the challenges of aging in both a professional capacity and as a volunteer in her community. As a Baby Boomer she understands the problems and politics of aging, and will continue to work on making life as good as it can be. She will continue to advocate on behalf of the individual and the public to promote good health, safety, and security whether in the home, a care facility, or in the community.