Lessons from the Front Line of a District Managed Grant

Posted by Heidi Whear and Joan McCormack 
on Mar 15, 2016
 
In September of 2014, the Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor embarked on an exciting grant to install 40 lock boxes on the homes of seniors in the community to provide timely access to homes in the event of an emergency. The project was the brainchild of the newly formed ElderAct Club, a group of senior volunteers under the umbrella of the Rotary Clubs of Marblehead Harbor and Swampscott. The project sailed through the development and planning process with support of the Marblehead Council on Aging and the Marblehead Fire Department.
 
Unfortunately, after enthusiastic approval from the District, we encountered multiple obstacles to timely completion of this project: 
 
  • boxes were back ordered on a slow boat from China, arriving in January!  
  • unexpected absence of a key player at the COA
  • relying on volunteers     
  • “snowmagedon”!!
 
 
In addition to learning patience and persistence we also realized that not all projects can be completed in a year. The Lock Box project was slow getting out of the gate but it picked up speed and had a winning finish... and the momentum is now huge. The ElderAct Club is very excited and starting to look at alternative sources of funding for more boxes. Swampscott Rotary is also looking into the program.
 
Honestly, this is the dream of most foundations - to identify and fund a new model, see if it flies and when it does, then hope that it gets picked up by others to keep on promoting the greater good. Thanks to the support of the District Foundation Committee and the Rotary Foundation we had a very successful District Managed Grant!