Empowering Elders: Stacy Stroman and the
Lifesaving Work of Blueprints’ Aging Well Program
This article is part of a month-long series spotlighting the people behind Blueprints, a nonprofit organization working to eliminate poverty through impactful community programs in Washington County, Greene County, and parts of West Virginia. To learn more about Blueprints, go to myblueprints.org.
Blueprints is a community action agency with a powerful mission: to break the cycle of poverty by empowering individuals and families with the tools and support they need to become self-sufficient and build better futures. Today we meet Stacy Stroman, Director of the Aging Well Department in Greene County, Pennsylvania.
Stacy Stroman has been a Greene County native for as long as she can remember. Her family moved there when she was three years old, a return home for her father, who was born and raised there.
Stroman grew up in a tight-knit family and her grandparents were beloved and influential figures in her life. They only lived a mile down the road at the family farm, and she and her family spent time with them regularly. Stroman and her siblings worked alongside them, helping feed livestock and bailing hay in the summer.
“They also taught us to be respectful and that it was important to always help out your neighbors,” says Stroman. She strives to pass on these lessons to her own sons, Colten and Cooper.
Her close relationship with her grandparents has inspired Stroman’s work with older adults. In fact, her sister also works at Blueprints.
Stroman graduated from Waynesburg Central High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from California University of Pennsylvania. After graduating, she worked with youth at a psychiatric hospital. In 1997 she began working for Blueprints, then Community Action Southwest.
The Aging Well department at Blueprints is relatively small, which means that in her role as Director, Stroman wears many different hats.
“Because our department is small, I’m often pulled in different directions to help out, which I don’t mind – it keeps me in touch with our senior participants, our staff and our volunteers,” she says.
The Aging Well department provides an array of vital services to the community, like Care Management, overseeing six community centers, meal delivery, and a retired and senior volunteer program (RSVP).
“Though I thoroughly am proud of all of our programs, I am most proud of our Home Delivered Meals program. We prepare and distribute over 50,000 home delivered meals each year,” says Stroman.
Blueprints’ Home Delivered Meals Program is a critical asset to the community, providing over 50,000 meals last year to vulnerable older adults in Greene County. These meals are delivered by dedicated volunteer drivers who also offer friendly visits and safety checks to seniors to maintain their independence and health as they age.
Aging Well depends heavily on volunteers, and Stroman praises the numerous volunteers who help make the meal delivery plan possible. Besides delivering a meal, these volunteers provide daily social interactions with adults who may otherwise be isolated. They are trained to notice any potential hazards or health concerns as well.
Stroman notes that one of the biggest challenges they face is funding. They’ve recently been hit with funding cuts that threaten their day-to-day operations, resulting in waiting lists for most of their services, including meal delivery. In an effort to restore these services, Blueprints is always looking for other funding opportunities and partnerships.
Stroman also served on the Greene County Chamber of Commerce board for three years, with her term ending last fall.
“I was very fortunate to work with a great group of leaders in our community – those partnerships alone have been very beneficial,” she says. Part of her mission was also to make others more aware of the work that Blueprints is doing in the community. She also works with the Greene County Older Adults Alliance, a group that helps identify the needs of older adults and helps to keep them involved and active in their community.
Working with older adults has been a blessing in Stroman’s life. The people she serves have become mentors for her, providing wise guidance that they have learned from a lifetime of experience.
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