Voluntary Action Center (VAC) employees and volunteers are busy every day helping seniors, the homebound, and the disabled meet their transportation and nutrition needs in DeKalb and neighboring counties.  CEO Nate Kloster broke down the services and funding sources for the organization during his presentation at this week’s Rotary meeting.  VAC relies on private donations, federal and state grants, and a support network of volunteers to carry out its mission.  Kloster also explained how an expanding need for services is prompting VAC to analyze space and equipment requirements and how to pay for them.

 

VAC’s transportation role involves services in DeKalb and Kendall Counties according to Kloster.  This includes their dial-a-ride program serving mainly rural areas of DeKalb County and throughout Kendall County.  Kloster says they also offer contract transportation services for some organizations.  This past fiscal year they provided about 58,000 rides in DeKalb County and almost 27,800 in Kendall County.  This is about the same level of service which was present before the Covid-19 pandemic totally shut down ridership.  Kloster explained that urban bus service in Sycamore, DeKalb, and Cortland is managed by a different entity.  About 65% of transportation costs are government subsidized.

 

The need for nutrition services continues to grow post pandemic according to Kloster.  He said almost 366,000 meals were provided in DeKalb County and another 190,000 from their facility in LaSalle County during the past fiscal year.  A recent study showed a need for 5,000 square feet of space needed to handle this volume while they only have 2,000 square feet in DeKalb County and 1,600 square feet in LaSalle County.  Unfortunately, he said, grants for capital expansion are not readily available.  Kloster noted that even funding for their meal program has limitations. Government reimbursement formulas cover 87% of meal costs in LaSalle County but only 48% in DeKalb County.  Kloster praised the contribution of Meals-On-Wheels volunteers in DeKalb County who service 16 of 19 meal routes worth a yearly value of $200,000 (this is one of Rotary’s service projects).

 

VAC depends on donations to make up their operating cost difference from government subsidies and said their next fundraiser is the Thomas F. Zucker Memorial Golf Outing September 8 at the River Heights Golf Course in DeKalb.  Details may be found at their website:  www.vacdk.com.          

July 30, 1863 – Automotive pioneer Henry Ford is born in Dearborn Township, Michigan.  Ford is credited with perfecting assembly line techniques for mass production and making the automobile affordable to average Americans rather than an expensive luxury conveyance.

 

August 1, 1770 – Explorer William Clark of Lewis and Clark expedition fame is born in Ladysmith, Virginia.

 

August 4, 1901 – Renowned trumpeter Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong is born in New Orleans, Louisiana.  He is considered among the most influential figures in jazz with a career spanning five decades.

 

August 4, 1961 – 44^th U. S. President Barack Obama is born in Honolulu, Hawaii.  He wins the Presidential election of November 4, 2008 to become the first President of African American origin.

July 30, 1975 – Former Teamsters Union leader James “Jimmy” Hoffa is last seen outside a restaurant in Detroit, Michigan.  He is declared officially dead in 1982.   

 

July 31, 1790 – The U. S. Patent Office opens and issues the first patent to Samuel Hopkins for a new method of making potash (fertilizer).  The patent is signed by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

 

August 2, 1923 – President Warren G. Harding dies suddenly in San Francisco while on a Western speaking tour.  The following day Calvin Coolidge is sworn into office.  Harding’s legacy is tainted by the Teapot Dome oil lease scandal that comes to light following his death.

 

August 4, 1964 – “Freedom Summer” Civil Rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner are found murdered and buried in an earthen dam outside Philadelphia, Mississippi.  They were participating in efforts to increase Black voter registration.  Seven avowed members of the Ku Klux Klan are convicted on federal conspiracy charges in connection with the deaths.