Mills Community Support and Community and Primary Health Care, founding partners of the new Get a Grip program, are delighted with recent support that helps fund the program. Get A Grip aims to get a pair of anti-slip ice grippers into the hands and onto the boots of every Lanark County resident over 65, for free. Funding for the program relies on grants, donations from service organizations and interest groups, purchases by community members, and generous individual donations. And the support has been pouring in.
Lanark County recently provided a generous $5,000 community grant to assist with funding for this much-needed program that helps keeps seniors safe and active during winter months. Not only is Lanark County supporting this seniors-focused program, the County has recognized the practical value of the grippers and has purchased a pair for each of their EMS personnel.
United Way Lanark were early and enthusiastic funders of Get a Grip, providing a total of $3,000 towards the program.
The Learning in Almonte organization has also helped out with a $200 Get a Grip donation. Appropriately, the donation was presented during a session of their recent course on weather. The course was led by Teri Loretto, well-known weather forecaster with the CBC, and Teri enthusiastically modelled a pair of the ice grippers for the presentation.
Community members have also been supporting the program through online donations via the MCS website (www.themills.on.ca). And there is even an ingenious “pay it forward” funding model for those wanting to purchase a pair – a portion of the purchase funds the free-to-seniors distribution program.
Other Lanark County seniors and community members can pick up or buy grippers at any library in Lanark County, through Mills Community Support at 67 Industrial Drive in Almonte, or through Community and Primary Health Care at 15 Bates Drive in Carleton Place, or any Home Support provider in Lanark County.
The Get a Grip premium ice grippers are manufactured by an Ontario company specializing in safety equipment. Designed to be easy to wear and use even in extreme environments like construction sites, the grippers are slipped over a boot and held in place by a wide and secure stretch band. When indoors, the band easily allows the grippers to slide around to the top of the boot for safe walking on interior surfaces.
For further information on the Get a Grip program, contact Jeff Mills at jmills@themills.on.ca (613) 256 1031 ext 263, or Patti Lennox at plennox@cphcare.ca (613) 257-3296 ext 230
